The Inspector General of Police (IG) Douglas Kanja has formed a special team that will conduct swift yet thorough investigations into an incident that saw President William Ruto’s security breached in Ganze, Kilifi County.

A man caused a stir during a thanksgiving ceremony of Youth Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs on Sunday, May 24, when he managed to successfully dodge security and joined President Ruto at the dais while he was making his address.

The man, holding a Bible in his hand, was able to briefly hug the President and even attempted to whisper some words to him before he was hurriedly whisked away by security.

Although President Ruto jokingly brushed away the incident, IG Kanja now says that any breach involving the security of the President is unacceptable and a matter of the gravest national concern.

“As the Inspector General of the National Police Service, I have immediately constituted a special investigations team to conduct a swift, thorough, and uncompromising inquiry into how this breach occurred,” IG Kanja said in a statement a few hours after the incident.

Consequently, IG Kanja has also ordered immediate changes to the security detail responsible for the President’s protection, in a bid to strengthen protocols and seal any existing vulnerabilities.

“The security of the Head of State is a matter of national security and will be treated with the utmost seriousness,” he says. “We wish to make it clear that all persons attending public events, particularly those involving the President and other national leaders, must strictly adhere to established security procedures and protocols at all times. Any attempt to breach security will be met with the full force of the law.”

He assured that the National Police Service, tasked with the mandate of serving and protecting the people of Kenya, will take every necessary measure to ensure such an incident is never repeated, and that the highest standards of security are maintained.