Presidential candidates to get at least ten body guards

Each of the presidential candidates will from June 8 get at least ten armed police officers to ensure their safety ahead of the August polls.

Of these, two officers will man their city and rural homes together with their running mates on a 24-hour basis and divided into two shifts.

Then a team of at least five officers will trail the candidates and their running mates whenever they will be in campaigns.

The team will be headed by an officer of the rank of an inspector, who will be required to always liaise with commanders of any place they will be visiting for ease of security.

Inspector General Hilary Mutyambai set up a pool of more than 200 officers to be deployed to the candidates once the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission gazettes them.

The pool is drawn from various officers from General Service Unit, Kenya Police, Administration Police and Prisons Service.

The candidates and their running mates are expected to provide logistics to the officers seconded to them. These include sentry rooms and vehicles for their movements.

IEBC will gazette the names of the candidates then set the motion for the process.

The team has been briefed and told there will be no "jokes" on security of the candidates and their running mates, officials aware said.

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 in recognising the importance of presidential candidates' security has a directive on what is to take place in case of death.

Article 38(8)(b) shows that the death of a candidate for election as President or Deputy President on or before the scheduled election date as one of the reasons that would lead to cancellation of the presidential election.

The other situation that can lead to cancellation of an already planned presidential election is when no person is nominated as a candidate at the expiry of the period set for the delivery of nominations.

The third circumstance that would lead to cancellation of the elections is when a candidate who would have been entitled to be declared elected as President dies before being declared.

Once the already planned presidential election is cancelled due to any of the circumstances, a new presidential election shall be held within 60 days after the date set for the previous presidential election, the Constitution states.

This means that in the case of Kenya’s elections, the other electoral offices shall not be affected by the cancellation of the presidential elections.

(Edited by Tabnacha O)