Why Parliament has ordered headcount of MP bodyguards

Increased wage bill and claims of abuse are some of the reasons Parliament is auditing bodyguards attached to Members of Parliament.

It is alleged some MPs were allocated up to 10 bodyguards and forced their way into the Parliamentary Service Commission for formal employment and pay.

This has shot up the House wage bill. It has also deprived police of dozens of officers who could be used in other duties.

Parliament is an attractive station for many officers as it pays better allowances compared to many other stations.

The move follows complaints that some MPs misuse the police bodyguards.

The police officers are at times used as messengers by some legislators.

The issue of bodyguards being attached to individuals remains thorny and hard to tackle.

Past attempts to address the issue legally failed because of vested interests, officials say.

This has seen police commanders being blackmailed to release police to individuals for various services.

The office of the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome is usually flooded with people in need of bodyguards, officials say.

At least 12,000 police officers act as bodyguards in the country.

A memo dated May 9, 2024 said the Commission Committee on Security and Development during its meeting held on April 9, 2024 resolved that an audit of all police officers attached to Parliament and drawing police top-up allowance be done.

“In this regard, the Directorate of Human Capital and Administrative Services, the Directorate of Security and Safety Services and the Directorate of Sergeant-At-Arms of both Houses are carrying out a head count for all police officers attached to Parliament,” the memo by the director general of Parliamentary Joint Service Clement Nyandiere says.

The first phase of the head count was carried out between April 22 and 26 2024.

The second phase of the head count for bodyguards for MPs was scheduled between May 17 and 24. The exercise requires the bodyguards to physically present themselves in person.

“Please communicate to Members of Parliament to inform their bodyguards/protection officers to avail themselves in person and to bring photocopy of original national identity card, photocopy of COA (Certificate of Appointment), posting order/ signal/ marching order, KRA Pin Certificate and digital passport-size photos to be taken at the security and safety offices."

Failure to participate would lead to officers being struck off the payroll, the memo says.

Currently, all MPs and Cabinet Secretaries are entitled to at least one police guard and two each at their homes upcountry or in the city.

Several other individuals also have bodyguards.

They include the clerks of the House and Senate, the Chief Justice and deputy, the Director of Public Prosecutions, judges and the Attorney General.

Tens of VIPs have up to 12,000 police officers assigned to them as bodyguards, cooks and messengers.

A team that was headed by former Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni proposed that the officers be released to undertake their core responsibilities to avoid situations where many policemen are underutilised by being deployed to work for a few VIPs at the expense of the majority.

But the scenario remains the same.

This is because almost one out of every seven police officers are deployed to guard the elite, leaving only about 70,000 to meet all the country’s policing needs.

Some top State officials each have up to a dozen bodyguards, stretching the capacity of the country’s service.

Apart from the President and his deputy, who have at least 200 and 45 security guards respectively, holders of sensitive dockets also have a high number of the 12,000 officers who provide security to VIPs.

While the size of the security detail varies according to the duties discharged by an official, and the level of risk, there have been concerns about the merit for some, especially those used to public displays of force.

Complaints have also been filed against senior officials who use their escorts with blaring sirens to break traffic rules, for instance driving on the wrong lanes and pushing other motorists out of the way.

Some policemen are also deployed to some of these VIPs as their drivers.

Governors, deputy governors, several chairmen of parliamentary committees, the Chief Justice, the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, the Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate, Inspector General of Police, his deputies are also in the league of the fortified.

These public officers each have a chase car, at least five guards, and another division protecting their spouses and children.

An unspecified number of influential personalities, former Cabinet members and retired public servants also have police guards – because of risks posed by decisions they made and information they accessed while in office.

Some parastatal chiefs, principal secretaries and even deputy secretaries are also entitled to police bodyguards.

This is apart from APs assigned at every level of the provincial administration such as county and sub-county commissioners.

The situation has depleted police of a huge number of officers who could be doing their primary duties.