Statehouse now says that there is no political motive in the government’s withdrawal of security details for Governors Ali Joho of Mombasa and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi.
The government now says it was a matter of reorganization of the VIP protection programme, which has nothing to do with politics.
Speaking on Sunday, Statehouse spokesperson Manoah Esipisu sought to clarify the issue, which has raised debate across the country.
Esipisu further defended the government’s development record at the coast, saying billions of shillings have been used in different infrastructure projects in the last few years.
“The regional command structures in Mombasa and Kilifi are re-organising themselves, and it will be upto them to respond to issues around that reorganization,” said Esipisu.
“The important thing is that there is no political motive in the operational matters within the police force,” he added.
He however did not explain why the changes affected only the two governors, and whether this would extend to other leaders.
Some leaders, especially those allied to the ODM party feel the move is discriminative, as it only targeted leaders from the opposition
“If Duale can move around with four vehicles, what is wrong with a governor using two vehicles, the president should stop this contradiction,” questioned Bonny Khalwale.
“The Kenyans constitution clarifies that any elected leader has the right to have security,” he added.
Joho is expected to jet back from Ghana, where he accompanied Raila Odinga for the swearing in ceremony of Ghanaian president, during which he will give his stand on the issue of withdrawal of his security detail.