President William Ruto’s speech was briefly disrupted by an anxious invader, who somehow ditched security protocol to get to the president.
The incident, which played out in full glare of cameras, saw the young individual make his way to the podium as Ruto was delivering his speech during the thanksgiving ceremony of Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs.
In what was a brief but tense moment of confusion, the president was forced to cut short his speech as his security personnel struggled to tackle the invader to hustle him out of Ruto’s vicinity.
Amid the chaos, Ruto, who was clearly shaken by the whole ordeal, nearly lost his balance as the podium invader was roughly taken away by security.
In the commotion, President William Ruto nearly lost his footing as he urged his security team to ease up on the intruder, who had already been subdued by officers. At one point, Ruto was heard telling the security personnel, “Leave that young man alone.”
Moments after the incident, a visibly shaken President Ruto attempted to play down the incident, insisting the incident was nothing to worry about.
“That young man has no problem. I think he learned from Fikirini Jacobs not to miss any opportunity. I will deal with him later,” Ruto said in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
The latest incident comes three months after Ruto experienced a similar ordeal in Wajir County.
On February 12, Ruto was in Wajir for the disbursement of NYOTA funds, startup capital, when the incident occurred.
The young man came from the right side of the podium, approaching from Ruto’s blind side as the Head of State addressed the crowd. However, Ruto’s security team sprang into action, tackling the man before reaching the most protected man in the country.
Incidentally, six days earlier, on February 6, while in Mombasa, an unidentified man ran onto the podium while the President was speaking, but Ruto intervened and urged his security detail to let the man speak.
In May 2025, the head of state narrowly escaped a shoe aimed at his head, blocking it with his arm while addressing a rally in Migori County.
Following the Migori incident, Ruto’s security detail was reportedly revamped and enhanced.
A few rallies that followed saw the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU) enforcing strict crowd and VIP control measures, including restraining people from getting too close to the president.
However, the series of incidents that have followed raises concerns over the responsiveness of Ruto’s security detail, with many asking how easy it has become for anyone to reach the president.
