Guards Brought in to Serve as Govt Informants

Security guards march during Labour Day celebrations at 64 Stadium in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on May 1, 2016.
Security guards march during Labour Day celebrations at 64 Stadium in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on May 1, 2016.
Daily Nation

Private security guards have been enlisted to bolster government efforts in fighting the Covid-19 outbreak in Kenya.

The guards, employed by private security companies will serve as a standby force to assist the government as it strives to enforce Covid-19 orders.

A statement by Protective Security Industry Association (PSIA) released on Saturday, March 28, provided that the sector had already started organising its membership of 700,000 into groups to handle different tasks.

Kenya Private Security Regulatory Authority boss Fazul Mahamed inspects a guard of honour mounted by trainee guards in Karen, Nairobi in January 2019.
Kenya Private Security Regulatory Authority boss Fazul Mahamed inspects a guard of honour mounted by trainee guards in Karen in January 2019.
Photo
Kenya Private Security Regulatory Authority

The Standard in a report on Sunday, March 29 provided that different firms had already contributed some of their numbers to support the government.

“The teams are already working and we are in constant consultation with relevant offices,” confirmed Cosmas Mutava, Chairperson at the Protective Security Industry Association.

Currently, more than 600 officers are undergoing training on how to sanitise and use protective gear without endangering their lives. This training is designed to trickle down to the other members.

Coordination of the guards will be effected through the communication and command centre that will relay information from the security officials to the national centre and vice-versa.

According to General Delano Kiilu, Secretary-General of the Protective and Safety Association of Kenya, the officers would serve as primary informants for the government.

Private security guards marching during Labour Day celebrations at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground in Kisumu County on May 1, 2018.
Private security guards marching during Labour Day celebrations at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground in Kisumu County on May 1, 2018.
Daily Nation

“Our guards will act as primary informants and we immediately transmit the same information to national emergency centre,” Kiilu stated.

Security companies in the country fall under the list of essential service providers who can operate outside the curfew hours. 

This makes them uniquely placed to serve as the eyes and ears of the government around the clock and report back to the relevant authorities. 

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