Ruto guards questioned over Sudi arrest saga

Three police guards attached to Deputy President William Ruto were yesterday questioned on their role in the escape of Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi from his house when the police raided with the intention of arresting him.

The officers — a chief inspector and two constables — are attached to the elite Presidential Escort Unit which guards the president, his deputy and their families.

They were summoned to police headquarters where they faced a panel of their colleagues. Officials aware of the developments said they were asked to explain why and how they were in the compound of Sudi last Friday night when a team of officers arrived there to arrest him.

The probe will be used for, among others, internal disciplinary action on the officers. They could be charged with aiding the escape of a prisoner if the team investigating the same arrive at that decision.

Preliminary reports indicate the officers had escorted the DP to his residence, where they handed him over to the GSU officers guarding his Sugoi residence.

They then left to join Sudi at his house kilometres away. When the police arrived, they were still in the compound.

Presidential escort

The presidential escort officers did not declare who they were in time. This was even after shots were fired at the entrance of the compound as the team forced its way in.

It was after the police officers gained entry that it emerged one of the members of the elite unite was armed with a Jericho pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition while his colleague had a Ceska pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition, according to police headquarters sources.

Meanwhile, Sudi has appealed against a decision by a Nakuru court to detain him for a further seven days. 

The MP, through lawyers Kipkoech Ng’etich and Nathan Tororei, filed a notice of motion at the High Court yesterday afternoon seeking to have the detention orders set aside.

He faulted Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo’s orders on Wednesday that his detention was in the public interest, saying the judge erred in his interpretation of the public matrix.

Kalo had directed that Sudi be held at Central Police Station for seven days.

The court noted that it was invited to balance between public interest and the MP’s right to be released on bond in relation to alleged utterances he made amounting to hate speech.

The court had heard that the utterances triggered demonstrations.

In the ruling, the court said in the case, public interest overrides Sudi’s right to be released on bond.

[Additonal reporting by Julius Chepkwony]