FALSE: William Ruto’s security detail has not been replaced with G4S security officers
A Facebook post claiming that Deputy President (DP) William Ruto’s security detail has been replaced with officers from the G4S security firm is FALSE.
“#BreakingNews Government recall Administration Police AP attached to William Samoei Ruto Sugoi home and Karen Annex and replace them with G4S security,” the post, which is accompanied by a photo of a man in a police reflector jacket, reads.
Unlike Administration Police (AP) officers, security guards do not carry guns but a baton.
The claim, dated 30 August 2021, comes days after National Police Service (NPS) Spokesperson Bruno Shioso announced security changes at Ruto’s official residence.
“Today 26 August 2021, the Security of Government Buildings Unit (SGB) has been deployed to provide general security to the official residence of H.E the Deputy President from General Service Unit (GSU),” a press statement from the NPS spokesperson reads in part.
Some citizens were unhappy with the NPS’s actions and as a result, a petition against the changes has been filed at Milimani Law Courts.
The communication secretary at the office of the DP, David Mugonyi, called the changes a an effort to undermine Ruto’s security “in an attempt to settle political scores”.
Mugonyi added that this is a security breach of the Police Service Standing Orders, Chapter 8, section 5 (e), which states that “the GSU commandant shall be responsible for the security of the president, the Deputy President, State Houses and lodges”.
Nonetheless, the information claiming Ruto’s security detail has been replaced with G4S officers is false. Neither the National Police Service, which routinely updates the public on the verified social media account nor the Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutyambai has said anything to that effect.
The statement by the NPS spokesperson highlighted that Ruto will continue to receive protection from the Presidential Escort Unit. No mention is made of the G4S. The latter is an international private security company that specializes in providing security and courier services. It has a presence in 100 countries and has been in existence for more than 100 years.
Further, Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiangi, said the switch was “a normal and routine re-assignment of duties under independent directions of the @IG_NPS”.
Ruto has asked the National Assembly not to give the matter airtime as Administration Police is equally well-equipped to do the job.
“The AP is a PROFESSIONAL SECURITY SERVICE and those who think it’s a downgrade are WRONG. Parliament should instead focus on DEPLOYMENT to serious security SITUATIONS in areas where bandits are causing mayhem & destruction,” Ruto posted on his Twitter account.
On 30 August 2021, Ruto shared photos as he received his new security team at his official residence in Karen.
The officers were wearing the AP uniform; brown shirts, jungle green trousers, a green combat jacket, and a black beret with a silver ‘Republic of Kenya’ logo.
G4S security guards in Kenya don white shirts with the company’s logo, red and black striped ties, red and black belts, and black hats with the logo.
Image reverse searches on Google and Yandex did not reveal the origin of the photo in the claim. However, search results show the picture has been posted by other users as seen here, here and here, with comments indicating that the person pictured is a civilian in a police jacket.
PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post claiming that Deputy President William Ruto’s security detail has been replaced with officers from the G4S security firm and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Naomi Wanjiku and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Rose Lukalo. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Enock Nyariki.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
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