Inspector General of police Japhet Koome Friday explained the move to withdraw and scale down security details attached to former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He added Uhuru and his family are safe and secure.
“They are safe and secure. All including former government officials,” he said.
Koome said the changes were part of a restructuring process within the National Police Service (NPS).
Koome disclosed he recalled the officer in charge of the former president to comply with the regulations of the National Police Service.
“Once the president has retired, the commander is a superintendent of police.
“An officer who was of the rank of an assistant Inspector General was with the retired president. So how do you expect an assistant Inspector General to report to another assistant Inspector General,” he insisted.
The recalled officer identified as Kiragu has been with Uhuru for more than 20 years and had had a personal attachment to him and his family.
Koome defended the move noting that it was in good faith and not a result of a political witch-hunt.
However, he declined to respond to the question of the number of police officers attached to the former president describing it as confidential.
Koome confirmed that the security detail of former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta was still intact.
“The former First Lady has security, not just the former first lady, even our late two former Presidents, we secure their premises. We respect those offices, we provide security,” Koome stated.
He said a number of former government officials had had their security scaled down.
He said the changes were aimed at rationalizing security deployment in the country to ensure the fair distribution of security personnel.
According to him, it would be unfair if the former government officials were left to retain the same number of security personnel in their retirement yet the current officials were in need of protection in their operations.
“Don’t politicize this issue. I am a policeman, an arbiter out to protect all. I am neutral and it is out of my priorities.”
Officials said the ex-president’s security had “some” of his security withdrawn on Wednesday in a surprise move.
As a former president, he is entitled to security. But some of those close to him said he was surprised when he was informed that some of his security had been recalled.
Also affected were members of his family.
Uhuru has a military officer- a colonel- seconded to him as an ADC.
The Presidential Retirement Benefits Act 2013 says the former president is entitled to at least six bodyguards and security in both urban and rural homes on a need basis as determined by the ministry of interior from time to time.
However, the same law allows the state to deprive him of the benefits if Parliament passes a resolution on the same.
This can happen if the retired president gets another job in the government and earns a salary or is jailed for over three years or actively participates in running politics.
The ex-president has kept a low profile since he left office last September.
He talked about current political developments early this week saying he had no time for those talking too much.
