The Ministry of Interior has been forced to intervene after reports emerged that the office of the Deputy President had not been serving food to the newly assigned bodyguards from the Administration Police unit.
Documents in the possession of Kenyans.co.ke showed correspondence between a senior officer in the Ministry of Interior and the Principal Administrative Officer in the Office of the DP.
The Ministry asked Ruto's handlers to ensure the bodyguards were either given food or allocated food allowances to enable them carry out their duties.
It further indicated that the DP's office had been providing meals to the GSU detail which was withdrawn in August 2021.
" This is to bring to your attention that the above officers have not been consistently provided with food rations or meal allowances to enable them to discharge their mandate effectively and efficiently.
"This is in contrast to their counterparts from GSU whom they replaced and who used to get food rations The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to request that you reinstate the food rations for the officers currently deployed in the two residences for optimal service delivery," the letter read in part.
According to the letter, the affected officers are deployed at the Deputy President's official residence in Karen and at his private home, also in Karen at Koitobos Road.
Changes have been effected in Ruto's security detail with the GSU guards being withdrawn and replaced with AP officers.
Reports indicated that the number of security officers deployed to guard his Karen residence and his rural home in Eldoret has been reduced significantly during the publicised change in August.
The Ministry of Interior described the transfers as part of routine adjustments by the government. Some of the security officers recalled from the DP's security detail will be re-deployed for other assignments.
A video shared online, however, showed normal activities by GSU officers at the DP's Karen residence.
A report by Citizen TV indicated that a total of 77 GSU officers were withdrawn from the DP's residence and replaced with 26 security officers from the AP service.
NPS responded to Ruto, claiming that the changes are normal re-assignment of duties within the security forces in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso, however, maintained that Ruto would still be provided with close protection detail from the Presidential Escort Unit, which is currently not the case in the latest arrangement.
