Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has scoffed at President William Ruto’s handling of his security team, claiming the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU) is demoralised, ethnically biased and operating without payment of allowances.

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday, May 25, 2026, Gachagua claimed that the officers tasked with protecting the Head of State had lost morale due to poor management and favouritism within the security ranks.

“The matter has now come to the public light, and everybody knows that their president is totally exposed. He has no security around him. He is surrounded by jokers,” Gachagua said.

The Democracy for the Citizens (DCP) party leader claimed that security officers assigned to protect the president were distracted during the recent security breach in Kilifi County.

“I’m told that most of the people who were guarding him yesterday were busy on WhatsApp and TikTok; they only realised the president had been accosted one minute after the possible assailant had already accosted the president,” he added.

Gachagua’s remarks come days after a dramatic incident during President Ruto’s public rally in Ganze, Kilifi County, where a man managed to get dangerously close to the presidential dais before security officers intervened.

The incident sparked public concern over the effectiveness of the President’s security detail and prompted immediate changes within the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU).

Even so, Gachagua has accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat and senior PEU commanders of turning the unit into an ethnically skewed outfit.

“What is happening is that the presidential escort unit is a demoralised lot, it is demoralised because one Kipchumba Murkomen, Eliud Lagat and the immediate escort commander Mayu have ethnicised that unit,” he claimed.

According to Gachagua, officers from communities outside the President’s ethnic group had been sidelined from active presidential assignments despite having professional expertise.

“Escorting the president around comes with privileges; officers from other communities do not leave the camp,” he said.

He further argued that some officers currently assigned to the President lacked the professionalism required for such a sensitive role.

“These officers from the president’s community are not necessarily professionals; they are escorting him just because they come from his community, that is why there is a sheer security laxity around the president,” Gachagua claimed.

Salaries for unit officers

Gachagua has also called for immediate payment of allowances and dues owed to members of the Presidential Escort Unit, saying the issue had severely affected their morale.

“I order that the officers of the presidential escort unit be paid their dues immediately. So that we can restore their morale to protect him (Ruto) and ensure national security is taken care of, and stability of this country is in place,” he stated.

Gachagua further urged President Ruto to broaden the composition of his security detail by incorporating officers from different communities.

“I ask him to allow officers from other communities who are professionals to guard him, not to depend on his tribemen, because so far, they have let him down,” he said.

At the same briefing, Gachagua intensified his criticism of Murkomen, accusing the Interior CS of incompetence and negligence in handling national security matters.

“The problem of the security of President William Ruto is that he has a CS who is naïve, childish and juvenile. In the inner circle of the ministry, I’m told he is called the minister of entertainment,” Gachagua claimed.

He further claimed that senior security officials had privately raised concerns over Murkomen’s leadership style and availability.

Security overhaul

“Security chiefs are telling me he is not available to be briefed on the security of the country, and when he is available, he does not comprehend security briefs. He is known for party after party,” he added.

Following the Kilifi security scare, major changes were announced within the Presidential Escort Unit.

PEU Commandant Noah Kirwa Maiyo was removed from his position and redeployed to Vigilance House in Nairobi. William Sawe, who previously headed the elite Recce Squad sub-unit, was appointed the new PEU Commandant with immediate effect.

At the same time, Juda Matthews Gwiyo was sent on leave ahead of retirement, while George Kirera was appointed deputy commandant as part of the restructuring aimed at tightening presidential security.

Josephat Sirma also took over leadership of the elite Recce Squad following Sawe’s promotion.