Deputy President William Ruto raised eyebrows after he visited Kibra on Sunday, October 27, with bodyguards who were armed to the teeth.
Many Kenyans were amazed by the security personnel's attire and range of artillery they carried with them.
The officers deployed to protect the presidency are from the highly trained paramilitary GSU Guard 'G' Company headquartered at State House Nairobi.
They are experienced in VIP protection, handling and detonating explosives, security of vital installations, anti-terrorism, sky marshal services (the counter-terrorism unit onboard commercial flights) and rescue operations.
The officers who had accompanied the DP to Kibra were from this elite squad as their primary responsibility was to protect the presidency, which he is part of.
The very first post-independence lot of this elite squad was trained in 1966 and had been carefully picked and vetted by ministers loyal to the founding father President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and carefully vetted.
Since then, the GSU special unit has expanded gradually into a more diverse and formidable commando team.
The elite officers have undergone training at the GSUTraining School in Embakasi and its Field Training Camp in Magadi.
Training involves 10-month-long courses, with a further 5-month long course required for promotion.
As with various branches of the Kenyan armed forces, they are sent to Britain to train at the Britannia Royal Naval College and Sandhurst.
