IG Kanja orders police changes after Ruto security breach

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The National Police Service has overhauled the presidential security detail and launched a special investigation after a security breach at a public event attended by President William Ruto in Ganze, Kilifi County, on Sunday, May 24.

The incident occurred during a Thanksgiving event for Youth Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs, where a man carrying a Bible moved from the crowd, ascended the dais and briefly held onto Ruto before security officers intervened.

"Can I hold you?" the man is heard asking in footage from the scene, to which the President responds, "Yes."

Inspector General Douglas Kanja said the breach was unacceptable and constituted a threat to national security.

He said he had constituted a special investigations team to conduct an inquiry into how the breach occurred, and ordered immediate changes to the presidential security detail.

"Any breach involving the security of the President is unacceptable and a matter of the gravest national concern," said Kanja.

He warned that anyone attending public events involving the President and national leaders must adhere to established security procedures at all times.

"Any attempt to breach security will be met with the full force of the law," added Kanja.

Sunday's incident is the latest in a series of security lapses around Ruto at public events.

In February, a man breached security and ran towards the podium as Ruto addressed a crowd at Wajir Stadium during a National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) funds disbursement forum.

The man, identified as Ahmed Muhumed, who claimed to be a local ward representative aspirant, was arrested with Kanja ordering a three-day inquiry into the incident.

A week before the Wajir incident, a man ran through a security barricade and tumbled onto the podium where Ruto was addressing a crowd at a NYOTA event in Mombasa.