• A private guard attached to the KK security company has been suspended with immediate effect.
• It is not clear why the officer assaulted the woman, but in the video he is heard demanding not to be filmed.
Image: COURTESY
A private guard attached to the KK security company has been suspended with immediate effect.
This follows a viral video that captured the officer, called Philip Kiriba, assaulting a woman.
The incident happened at the Lobelia Court in Nairobi's Kilimani area.
In the video, he is heard demanding not to be filmed.
It is not yet clear what transpired before the incident.
Noting the incident was regrettable, Chief Executive Officer Private Security Regulatory Authority, Fazul Mahamed, said the authority had received the matter and issued directives accordingly.
"Following preliminary investigations of the incident, we have ordered for the immediate suspension of the officer, an internal disciplinary process by the employer as well as reporting the incident to the nearest police station," Fazul said in a statement.
Fazul said there is absolutely no room for such conduct in the Private Security Industry.
“Private security officers are under the obligation, responsibility and duty to maintain public safety and security in line with provisions of the Private Security Regulation Act, No 13 of 2016,” he said.
He added, “A private security officer causing a breach of public safety and security goes against the conduct expected of private security officers”.
Fazul reiterated that Private Security Regulation Act has a code of conduct against which all private security providers, both individual and corporate, will sign upon licensing.
“Breach of the code of conduct, like this incident was, is an offence with liability accruing both to the individual and the employer depending on circumstances of the case,” he said.
Fazul said the incident clearly shows the necessity for training especially in customer service, effective communication, dispute resolution, and conflict management for the officers.
“The Authority has emphasized on the need for rigorous training under its statutory mandate both at entry and refresher level,” he said.
He said the Private Security Officer Training curriculum by the Authority is soon to be launched and is expected to standardize training for all private security officers and address such incidents and other outstanding issues in service provision.