NAIROBI, Kenya – A General Service Unit (GSU) officer was killed on Monday morning in a shocking attack outside State House, Nairobi, after a man armed with a spear struck him in the chest.
The officer, who was on duty with two colleagues at Gate D — a public access point to the State House — was attacked around 11 a.m. as he conducted a routine security check on a vehicle entering the compound.
Police said the assailant, a 56-year-old man, approached the officers pretending to be a street dweller while carrying a sack.
He had concealed a spear inside it and allegedly hid behind a flower bed before launching the fatal attack.
The slain officer was attached to the G Company of the GSU, the elite paramilitary unit tasked with guarding the State House and the President’s official residences.
Witnesses said the suspect was swiftly subdued by security officers at the scene before being arrested.
Investigators said they refrained from using live fire to preserve him for questioning.
“He told police he was sent by satan to commit the act,” an officer involved in the interrogation said.
The motive of the attack remains unclear, though detectives are probing whether the assailant had any prior connection to the slain officer.
The incident sparked a brief security scare at the State House, where President William Ruto was present and preparing to leave for an engagement in Konza City, Machakos County.
Security was immediately tightened, with reinforcements deployed around the perimeter.
Kilimani Sub-County Police Commander Patricia Yegon and her DCI counterpart Hussein Mahat visited the scene and the hospital where the body was taken.
Officials from the State House also accompanied the officers to the hospital.
The attack came just hours after another GSU officer was found dead near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in a separate incident.
The officer was reportedly strangled and drowned following an altercation with a man, who has since been arrested.
Both incidents have raised questions about the safety and welfare of security officers guarding key state installations.
The GSU’s G Company is responsible for securing the State House, state lodges, and the President’s private residences, working alongside the Presidential Escort Unit and local police.
President Ruto and his family are guarded by an estimated 200 officers from the GSU.
