“UNACCEPTABLE”: Ruto Security Team Overhauled After Kilifi Incident
The police chief said changes had already been made to officers responsible for the President’s security, adding that authorities were reviewing existing protocols to prevent a repeat of the incident.
By Staff Writer
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja Kirocho has ordered immediate changes to President William Ruto’s security detail and constituted a special investigations team after a man carrying a Bible breached multiple security layers, ascended the presidential dais, and briefly clung to the Head of State during a public event in Ganze, Kilifi County on Sunday.
The incident unfolded during a thanksgiving ceremony for Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs, where footage showed the man moving from the crowd, climbing onto the dais, and approaching the President while holding a Bible. In the brief but chaotic moments that followed, Ruto nearly lost his balance as security officers struggled to remove the intruder, with the President visibly shaken by the ordeal.
The National Police Service, in an official press statement signed by Kanja, confirmed the breach occurred while the President was addressing members of the public and said the investigation would be swift, thorough, and uncompromising. The statement warned that any attempt to breach security at events involving the President or other national leaders would be met with the full force of the law.
“Although security agencies responded swiftly and decisively to contain the situation and restore order, any breach involving the security of the President is unacceptable and a matter of the gravest national concern,” Kanja said in the statement.
Ruto, appearing to recover his composure at the scene, was heard telling security personnel to stand down, before quipping: “That young man has no problem. I think he learned from Fikirini Jacobs not to miss any opportunity. I will deal with him later.” Authorities had not confirmed by press time whether the individual had been arrested or charged.
The Ganze breach is the latest in a sustained pattern of security failures at presidential public engagements. On May 4, 2025, a shoe was hurled at the President during a rally in Kehancha, Kuria West, Migori County, striking him as he addressed residents. Footage showed Ruto deflecting the projectile with his arm before security officers rushed the stage. Four suspects faced possible treason charges, which carry the death penalty under Kenyan law, though their families maintained the men were not present at the rally.
On January 9, at the launch and disbursement of the NYOTA Project Business Start-Up Capital for the South Rift region at the Nakuru ASK Showground in Nakuru Town West, a youth broke from the crowd and sprinted toward the podium where the President was speaking to young entrepreneurs. Security officers moved in quickly before Ruto intervened and engaged the intruder in a light-hearted exchange that briefly eased tensions at the venue.
A month later, on February 6, a man identified as Jeremiah broke from the crowd and ran toward the dais at the Jomo Kenyatta Showground in Mombasa, where Ruto was presiding over the disbursement of Sh147 million in NYOTA business start-up capital to 5,880 young entrepreneurs from Mombasa, Kwale, and Taita-Taveta counties. Ruto intervened and briefly engaged him before the event continued.
Six days later, on February 12, a man identified as Ahmed Mohammed charged toward the podium at Wajir Stadium during the NYOTA funds disbursement forum and was swept away by a presidential guard before being arrested and interrogated on his motive. Kanja responded by forming an inquiry team and giving it a strict three-day deadline to submit findings and recommend immediate remedial measures. That Sunday’s Ganze breach, coming just over three months later, suggests those recommendations have not fully closed the gaps.
“The security of the Head of State is a matter of national security and will be treated with the utmost seriousness,” Kanja said in the statement issued from National Police Service Headquarters.
Security analysts have attributed the recurring breaches partly to the 360-degree campaign-style arrangement now commonly used at presidential events, which leaves the Head of State exposed from multiple angles. Close-protection expert Byron Odera, a former Special Forces officer, has called on those responsible for presidential security to re-examine those set-ups entirely.
The most serious physical breach in recent memory occurred in October 2025, when a spear-wielding intruder fatally attacked a General Service Unit officer at Gate D of State House, Nairobi, while the President was within the compound. Kenya’s presidential protection structure draws personnel from the Presidential Escort Unit, the General Service Unit, and other specialised formations across the security services.
The National Police Service said it would take every necessary measure to ensure the incident was not repeated and that the highest standards of security were maintained for the President, national leadership, and the nation. The findings of the special investigations team are expected to inform further structural changes to the presidential protection arrangement.
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