Open dais, open risk: Is President Ruto’s security slipping?

President William Ruto’s security has in recent days been breached, especially while presiding over NYOTA programmes, the latest incident occurring on Thursday when a man charged towards him at an event in Wajir County.

The spike in such cases raises questions about what has changed in Kenya’s reputedly impenetrable presidential and VIP protection

The daring Wajir incident is the latest presidential security breach where the man, who has now been identified as Ahmed Mohammed, charged towards President William Ruto, only to be dramatically swept off the path by a vigilant presidential guard.

He was later arrested and interrogated as police tried to piece together his motive.

The scare follows another incident in Mombasa a week ago, where a young man attending a NYOTA event in the Coastal city ran through a security barricade and tumbled onto the podium where President Ruto was addressing the crowd.

“If this person had ill intentions, automatically, he would have launched on the President. He might have been carrying a knife, a hand grenade. That should not have happened at all,” said George Musamali, a security expert.

While security agencies mull over the embarrassing breaches, the new 360-degree campaign-like set-ups of the presidential dais may be contributing to the incidents, which have left the President exposed.

And other engagements that bring together thousands of people close to the President, the 360-degree set-up not only exposes him but also presents a security nightmare for the team providing cover.

“We have a President who is campaigning for a second term and a president who wants to look a man of the people. This opened the security,” said Musamali.

According to security analysts, the campaign-like set-ups may have to be re-examined.

“It’s high time now that the people responsible for the president’s security relook these set-ups and guarantee the president’s security,” Musamali stated.

President Ruto’s security was breached last year when a man in the crowd at a rally in Migori County hurled a shoe at him.

A man was also arrested in 2019 after blocking then-President Uhuru Kenyatta’s convoy, forcing the presidential car to a sudden halt.