Mistrust, espionage and sabotage created tension at the Presidential Escort Unit, sparking tension between junior police officers and their superiors which contributed to multiple security lapses, the Nation has learned.
For State House mandarins and the Inspector-General of Police, an incident last Sunday in which a man got to touching distance of President William Ruto in Kilifi was the last straw and an indication that the unit needed fresh leadership.
Multiple interviews with police officers reveal that the working space had become toxic, as several juniors felt that their bosses harassed them while favouring a select group of colleagues, especially for assignments which usually draw hefty allowances.
A split between some superiors trickled down to juniors, with members of the two camps even spying on each other in a bid to find actionable offences.
There has also been disquiet within the unit, as senior police commanders withheld allowances intended for junior officers who guard the President and Statehouse.
Further, the officers claim that some of their bosses were openly biased, especially in assigning officers who accompany the President on foreign trips, further worsening the working environment, the sources said yesterday.
A day before the Kilifi security breach, the sources said, a senior police chief at State House, Mombasa, was involved in a verbal altercation with a junior officer over an undisclosed issue.
A screengrab of a video of the moment a security officer tackled a man (in black) who stormed the podium and interrupted President William Ruto mid-speech.
Photo credit: Pool
That altercation, one officer added, was one of many which have left some of President Ruto’s protectors demotivated.
“The morale has been very low,” said one of the officers.
“Some of our bosses deny us the opportunity to travel outside with the President. It’s only a certain group of officers who are close to the bosses that you see during the trips outside the country,” said another officer.
Foreign trips are always enticing to the escort officers who get an opportunity to earn heft allowances.
“We hope that the new boss will now streamline operations and give equal chances to all of us,” said an officer who has served in the unit for the last nine years without getting an opportunity to accompany the President outside Kenya.
Multiple security breaches
Last Sunday, the Inspector-General of Police announced sweeping changes within the president security team after the security breach.
Noah Maiyo, who has been the commandant of the Presidential Escort Unit, has been moved to the police headquarters under the vigilance department.
Juda Matthews Gwiyo, who deputised Maiyo, was directed to proceed on leave ahead of his retirement.
Presidential guards restrain a man who tried to force his way onto the dais where President Ruto was addressing residents of Wajir on Thursday.
George Kirera, who was serving as the staffing officer at PEU, has been appointed as the new Deputy Commanding Officer of Ruto's security detail.
The changes also extended to the Recce Squad, where Josephat Sirma has been named the Commanding Officer of the Recce sub-unit, taking over from Sawe, who had been appointed PEU Commandant.
In February this year, the President’s security detail was set to undergo a reshuffle after an internal investigation following multiple security breaches.
That investigation followed a security lapse which saw a man beat the security cordon and land on the Presidential dias.
The man was intercepted just a few meters from where the President was making his speech during a tour of the Northern Kenya region.
Presidential guards restrain a man who tried to force his way onto the dais where President Ruto was addressing residents of Wajir on Thursday.
“The NPS wishes to unequivocally that at no time was the safety of his excellency the President, other dignitaries or members of the public compromised. The Presidential security team and other officers on the ground acted with the utmost professionalism and speed to de-escalate the situation and restore order,” Inspector-General Douglas Kanja said in a statement hours after the incident.
The President is the most guarded government official with close to 500 police officers watching over him, his immediate family members and some of their unmovable assets like land.
The audit recommended, among other things, an overhaul of the security team, transfer of officers who had overstayed in the president's escort, according to sources familiar with the findings at the time.
The report also stated that the leadership wrangles and tension in the two PEU camps could trigger sabotage.
