COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has disagreed with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration’s decision to withdrawal General Service Unit officers from Deputy President William Ruto’s official residence in Karen, Nairobi.
Atwoli noted that Uhuru’s administration should have formally informed DP Ruto about its plans to change his security guards.
The COTU boss noted that he does not support the government’s decision to withdraw the security guards. According to him, the government should not compromise the security of DP Ruto and any other Kenyan.
“When it comes to the security of any Kenyan, don’t compromise. And I equally don’t support what the government did. If they were to change that security, they would have done it with the knowledge of our deputy president because we don’t want these lame excuses being blamed on the government because of the security of other people,” he said.
“What they should normally do is that they will come and discuss with you and tell you ‘we are trying to change these officers for this reason’…. You should not come home and find new faces in your home. You might even run away from that home,” Atwoli added as reported by Citizen Digital.
Atwoli has joined other leaders, including Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, in condemning the actions by the government to withdraw DP Ruto’s security officers.
Senator Sakaja noted that the government’s move was unconstitutional and against the law.
The leaders’ outburst comes a day after the GSU officers guarding Ruto’s Karen residence were replaced with officers from the Security of Government Buildings Unit (SGB).
Defending their action, the National Police Service, through its spokesperson Bruno Shioso, noted that the reshuffle was a “normal re-assignment of duties within the National Police Service to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.”
