A total of 79 GSU officers manning Deputy President William Ruto’s residences were withdrawn between Thursday and Friday.
The GSU officers were replaced with 31 Administration Police, a move that the National Police Service termed as the normal reassignment of VVIP security officers.
“This is a normal reassignment of duties within the National Police Service to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The Presidential Escort continues to provide close security protection to William Ruto,” Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso explained.
However Ruto’s spokesperson David Mugonyi said that the move by NPS was illegal.
Ruto’s woes had been attributed to the deteriorating relationship with his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta.
It has now emerged that the Ruto’s elite security detail was withdrawn because of the increased delegation that he has been receiving from across the country especially at his Karen residence.
Sources close to the police reveal that the frequent visitors Ruto received did not go in line with the Covid containment measures and a ban on political gatherings.
According to a report by the Standard, the decision to withdraw Ruto’s elite security was reached on August 21.
Sources reveal that the meetings had to be stopped at all costs with the police threatening to storm the residence if the directives were not followed.
The police bosses felt that the security detail at Ruto’s residence were not doing enough to ensure that Covid protocols were followed to the latter hence the need to replace them.
The move to withdraw the GSU officers has caused an uproar among Kenyans as well as politicians.
Nandi Governor Stephen Sang said the withdrawal was unlawful, adding that security officers attached to the presidency was clearly stipulated in the constitution and what was happening was politically instigated.
On his side, the COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli criticized the government on the reshuffle saying that did that without the knowledge of DP Ruto.
“I don’t compromise when it comes to the security of any Kenyan. I don’t support what the government did yesterday and if they were to change the security they would have done so with the knowledge of Ruto. We don’t want these lame excuses being blamed on the government,” he stated on Friday
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