Life as a politician's bodyguard in Kenya

President Uhuru is surrounded by men charged with protecting him and his family

By HUDSON GUMBIHI

With his dark suit concealing the obvious bulge of the pistol, the occasional pitch-black sunglasses covering his darting eyes and the don’t-mess-with-me stern face, Peter* is every inch the lethal bodyguard. His presence is an apparent reassurance that no harm can befall the boss, a prominent Senator.

However, while his family, friends, police colleagues and the public envy the power and prestige of being a VIP bodyguard, Peter thinks he is nothing but a thin veneer that covers a broken VIP protection setting.

“It is a completely failed system. But there is no problem as long as it helps me to feed and educate my children,” he says with a resigned shrug of the shoulders.

The truth, says the city policeman, is that he is too ill-trained and ill-equipped to guarantee proper protection. He also claims there is little a bodyguard can do in certain situations, especially considering the casual manner in which some VIPs conduct themselves.

“Can the bodyguard protect him from being poisoned by the girlfriend? We are normal human beings, not supernatural beings,” he said.

He also claims to be shabbily treated by the senator, including often being asked to run domestic errands that are more suited to a timid houseboy than a tough escort.  

Peter’s circumstances underline the problems of the VIP protection setting that operates with no clear policies, legislation or coherence of command. Instead, individual bosses control the bodyguards.

Police estimates indicate that at least 2,000 officers are guarding VIPs, with most of them assigned to MPs, Senators and Governors.

The officer says apart from providing protection, he and his colleagues are supposed to be agents passing out information to the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

“That is part of the briefing before being deployed, but it hardly happens because we are compromised to the level of not giving information to the intelligence. Sometimes we escort the VIPs to shady deals,” claims the officer, who declines to further explain the dirty deals his boss is involved in.

Debate on VIP protection has been in the limelight in recent weeks following a decision by government to recall some of them. The number of bodyguards and vehicles assigned to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has also been a contentious subject.

The explanation advanced on reducing the number of bodyguards was that the National Police Service had been overstretched by other important duties of protecting the life and property of ordinary citizens.

According to Wambua Kisyungu, the Adjutant at the Security of Government (SGB), the move was inevitable.

“The officers have been deployed to boost patrols. The reasoning is that if the general security is improved then there shall be no worry about VIP safety,” said Kisyungu.

SGB is a unit within the Administration Police Service. It is responsible for VIP protection and securing vital government installations. Kisyungu briefly acted at the unit’s Commandant. Other officers assigned such duties are drawn from the regular police and the General Service Unit.

VIP protection refers to security measures taken to ensure the safety of individuals who may be exposed to high personal risk because of their employment, celebrity status, wealth or associations. It sometimes extends to the VIP’s family members.

Some of the key roles performed by the bodyguards include: Detail leader, assistant detail leader, tactical commander, motorcade lead, advance lead, mobile agent, static agent and protective intelligence agent.

But according to a police chief inspector, who did not want to be named, many of the bodyguards, especially those drawn from the AP, have little knowledge in protection.

“Unlike the regular police, our AP counterparts are not properly trained in VIP protection,” he said.

AP Spokesman Masoud Mwinyi says VIP training is diverse and it is not a must for officers to attend training at Ruiru, the main location for such specialised drilling. He says many AP officers have been trained by experts from the US, UK, Egypt and China.

“They have had adequate training. They have got the capacity and competence to handle security challenges,” he says.

According George Musamali, the director of Executive Protection Services, a private firm, the diverse nature of the job of VIP Protection requires a vast range of qualities and training skills.

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo, who issued the new guidelines on VIP protection could not be reached to give the exact number of those who need bodyguards.

Public opinion was, however, divided on whether it was ideal to reduce the number of bodyguards with the Secretary General of Consumers Federation of Kenya, Stephen Mutoro, adapting a cautious approach.

On the one hand he supports Kimaiyo’s efforts to increase the number of officers to fight crime, but on the other hand he feels the move may backfire. 

“He (Kimaiyo) is the only competent person to measure the level of security for the VIPs. However, he will be held accountable if those who were not accorded adequate security are harmed,” said Mutoro.

Werunga Simiyu, an expert on security, is opposed to downsizing of VIP bodyguards claiming Kimaiyo was ill-advised. He accussed the IG of usurping the role of the National Security Council.

“Kimaiyo as an individual cannot do it alone because it is only the National Security Council which determines the level of national threats on social issues, economic issues, political issues and external issues,” said the director of African Centre for Security and Strategic Studies.