The senior commanders in charge of the security of Kenya’s President William Ruto have been overhauled after a youthful man ran up to the president, spoke with him at close range, and even threw his arm onto Ruto’s shoulder in the country’s coast on Sunday, May 24.
Kenya’s police service termed it a “serious security breach,” which was “unacceptable and a matter of the gravest national concern.”
President Ruto was addressing residents of Ganze in the coastal county of Kilifi during the thanksgiving ceremony of a youth affairs ministry official, when the incident occurred.
Fikirini Jacobs, who is Kenya’s youth affairs principal secretary, had invited Ruto to Kilifi, Fikirini’s home county, to show appreciation to the president for hiring him in government in March 2025.
Caught flat-footed
When President Ruto was addressing the gathering on Sunday, a youthful man ran to the podium in an apparent attempt to catch the head of state’s attention.
He not only managed to access the president, but also threw his arm over Ruto’s left shoulder in a brief encounter that has left many questioning the alertness of the head of state’s bodyguards that day.
The police service, however, said in a statement that its officers “responded swiftly and decisively to contain the situation.”
Upon being grabbed off the president, Ruto ordered his security detail to leave the man alone, but the bodyguards could not leave anything to chance during that anxious moment.
President’s security overhauled
After the man was fully contained, President Ruto heard what he had to say and directed that he be allowed to sit not far from where the head of state was making his address.
In a quick reaction to the events on Sunday, the Inspector-General of Kenya’s National Police Service, Douglas Kanja, ordered immediate changes to the security detail responsible for the president’s protection.
Kanja said in a statement: “The security of the head of state is a matter of national security and will be treated with utmost seriousness,” adding that: “Any attempt to breach the (president’s) security will be met with the full force of the law.”
In a follow-up statement, the police service said Kanja had recalled the commandant of the Presidential Escort Unit, Noah Kirwa Maiyo, and ordered Maiyo’s deputy, Juda Mathews Gwiyo, to proceed on leave, pending retirement.
Strengthening ‘protocols’
Consequently, the Commanding Officer of the elite Recce Sub-unit, William Sawe, was named the commandant of Kenya’s Presidential Escort Unit.
According to Kenya’s inspector-general of police, these changes will “strengthen protocols and seal any existing vulnerabilities.”
On several previous occasions, President Ruto’s security was breached, including in Migori County, located in the country’s west, where a shoe hurled from the crowd hit his arm in May 2025.
The cases of people, successfully or unsuccessfully, running to President Ruto during public events have caused significant concern.
The Kenyan leader’s security functions are carried out mainly through the National Police Service and other state security agencies.
