How VIP protection is used to punish, intimidate those who don't tow the line

It is a juvenile game that has been used by successive Kenyan governments and their operatives to try and punish, intimidate or tame those perceived to not be following their orders.

Justice Mugambi had given Masengeli six opportunities to present himself before him to clarify the whereabouts of Jamil Longton, his brother Aslam Longton, and activist Bob Njagi, all reportedly abducted by people in unmarked cars believed to be police officers on August 19, 2024, as the Gen-Z protests rocked the nation.

Masengeli never bothered to follow the very same law he's mandated to help enforce.

The top boss was busy everywhere else apart from making an appearance at the court. For whatever reason, Masengeli would always share photos online to show how busy he was either as a way to curry favour with the court or spite it.

Masengeli even once sent someone else to appear on his behalf saying; “In a bid to comply with the orders, I assigned the Deputy IG Kenya Police Service Eliud Lagat to attend Court on my behalf. It is not clear why the Court insisted on me attending to this matter in person, yet an equally senior officer had been availed by the Service. For the avoidance of doubt, the issues arising in the matter in Court were not personal to me.”

Justice Mugambi, seemingly having exercised restraint by going the whole length of seven court summons, did what a judge had to do, deal with the acting IG by the law.

On Friday, September 13, 2024, he sentenced Masengeli to six months in prison after finding him in contempt of the court and that he should present himself to the Commissioner General of Prisons to begin his sentence.

However, the judge ruled that if he does not submit himself, the Cabinet Secretary of Interior must take steps to ensure he is committed to prison to serve the sentence.

Justice Mugambi tried to be lenient with the convict ruling that Masengeli may still avoid serving the sentence if he appears in court within seven days; failure to do so, the sentence will be effective.

This must have irked the police boss so badly that he decided to do something about it. One minute Justice Mugambi had a security detail, the next, he was all alone like a commoner.

The Judiciary, led by Chief Justice Martha Koome were up in arms, tried to quote the Constitution and demanded for his protection to be reinstated.

"The act of withdrawing the security of a sitting Judge, following a judicial decision that displeased certain authorities, is deeply concerning. It sends a chilling message to the Judiciary and the public at large, that those entrusted with upholding justice and safeguarding our rights can be intimidated, bullied, or retaliated against for their rulings." She said the actions are against Article 160 of the constitution, which emphasizes the independence of the judiciary. “Retaliatory measures against judicial officers are uncalled for. JSC calls for the national police to restore the security of Hon. Justice Mugambi,” she said.

But Masengeli listened to the Chief Justice and issued a defiant statement in response.

“The responsibility for the independent command of the police is vested in the IG and no person may give a direction to the IG with respect to "the employment, assignment. promotion, suspension or dismissal of any member of the National Police Service".

When he finally got the issue at hand, Masengeli said; "In the case of Hon. Justice Mugambi, the two security officers in question are General Duty Officers and were therefore recalled to attend VIP security training, and were replaced by two VIP protection Officers from the Judiciary Police Unit."

Have we seen this movie before? Yes, of course. Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime practically perfected this gimmick and no one was spared.

On September 27, 2017, the leader of the National Super Alliance (NASA) opposition party, Raila Odinga and his deputy Kalonzo Musyoka had their bodyguards withdrawn and recalled to the General Service Unit headquarters in Ruaraka, Nairobi.

The officers were recalled on the eve of a planned demonstration against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Odinga, Kalonzo and other top NASA leaders were a no-show during the demonstration as Odinga later claimed that denying him and other opposition leaders state security was part of a wider ploy to cause harm to them.

In October 2017, the police in Nairobi said that the driver of Kenya's Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu was shot and wounded two days ahead of the country's re-run of presidential elections.

Deputy CJ Mwilu's driver cum bodyguard was shot in the shoulder weeks after the Supreme Court, of whom Deputy CJ Mwilu was a member, had hitherto thrown out the results of the August 8 General Election and people were not convinced that the shooting was a random occurrence.

President Ruto was also once a victim of the bodyguard withdrawal gimmick as Deputy President.

As Ruto's schism with his boss grew wider, the president unleashed on him the humiliation of changing his VIP security detail from the General Service Unit (GSU) Recce Unit with the Administration Police.

This happened on August 26, 2021, with the move causing a ruckus among Ruto’s political allies, who claimed the State was denying him his legal entitlement.

As would be expected, the office of the Inspector General later claimed the changeover was normal, but Ruto's Communication Secretary David Mugonyi said the state was undermining the DP's safety.

As a category one VVIP, the Deputy President is entitled to security from the same elite guards as the president.

Both of them are supposed to be guarded by the G Company and the Recce Company, which are elite platoons from the GSU whose members are carefully selected to form the Presidential Security Unit.

The official explained the decision was taken because the DP's Karen residence is not a State House or a State lodge, which the GSU is mandated to guard.

The Police Service Standing Orders say GSU personnel will provide security to the President, DP, State House and lodges.

Police spokesman at the time Bruno Shioso said the change was "normal".

The said redeployment plans came on the back of a frosty relationship between the two most powerful people in the country with Uhuru accusing Ruto of sabotaging his quest to unite the country.

President Kenyatta further urged Ruto to resign if he was disgruntled by his sense of direction.

The judiciary has every reason to be concerned over the latest developments.

In June 2024, Makadara Law Courts Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti was shot and killed by a senior police officer who was in court for the hearing of a case involving his wife.

After the shocking incident, CJ Koome later said it would enhance security measures and assured judicial staff and other court users of their safety and security.

The more things change, the more they remain the same and we are sure, this is not the last time VIP protection will be used to punish, intimidate people who do not seem to tow the line.