Japhet Koome, the inspector general of police, has given more details about his decision to reduce retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s security.
The IG stated that the action was part of a process to restructure the police service while speaking on Friday in Mombasa.
“The commander is a superintendent of police once the president has retired.
With the former president was an officer with the rank of assistant inspector general. So how are you going to expect one assistant inspector general to report to another?” Koome asked.
He refuted claims that the recall of the police officers working for the prior president was done for political reasons. When it comes to VIP security, politics are not a factor. Because we are an independent office and a responsible police department, we would prefer to avoid being drawn into politics, he said. Additionally, Koome denied rumors that Mama Ngina Kenyatta’s security detail had been cut back.
Not just the former First Lady, but also our late two former Presidents’ properties are secured, according to the statement. According to Koome, we respect those offices and offer protection. When announcing the removal of the security detail that had been assigned to former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, Koome explained that the changes had been taken to ensure that security personnel were distributed fairly.
He believed it would be unfair to require retired government officials to continue to use the same level of security when active officials required protection for their duties.
He remarked, “There are active CSs who must be in the office by 6am and depart at 10pm. We can’t offer protection to them.”