The board charged with regulating security firms has disowned statements by its chief executive Fazul Mahamed that guards will be issued with guns in June.
The Private Security Regulatory Authority yesterday said the plan to arm guards can only be enforced after the law barring such a move is repealed.
During a meeting at Railways Club in Nairobi last month, Fazul suggested the agency would begin vetting guards to determine their suitability to handle guns.
He said the board would advertise for institutions to conduct training of private security personnel before they are armed. But PSRA vice chairperson Erick Okeyo said the board has yet to decide on any timelines for arming the guards, as an existing law is against it. It has to be amended if they are to be armed.
“There exists no pronouncement by the board on this issue. The board transacts its business by way of resolution,” he said.
“For now, our focus is to help the PSRA to fully implement the Act as it were. As the PSRA, we can’t amend the law.”
Read:
Section 53 of the law establishing the PSRA says any security firm that arms guards will be liable to Sh2.5 million fines. The Firearms Act equally bars the arming of a civilian to protect another person for monetary gain.
Dismissing Fazul’s assertions as premature, Okeyo said the authority will engage Interior CS Fred Matiang’i to send a memo to Parliament to initiate the amendment.
Security firms will engage the board on measures to be put in place to amend the law.
“Arming guards would be helpful to us, employers, in terms of revenues. We’ll charge our clients more for the additional protection. We cannot oppose the idea,” Okeyo said.
A meeting has been called at Harambee House on Monday. This will be the second since the PSRA met last May to deliberate on the issue.
The PSRA membership comprises Interior, the National Treasury and Labour PSs, the Inspector General of Police, the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union, the Kenya Security Industry Association, the Protective Security Industry Association, the Residents Associations and Kepsa.
The call to arm private security guards was escalated following last month’s terror attack at Dusit hotel, Nairobi, which left 21 people dead.
Jonathan Njuguna of the African Policy Institute, in an opinion published in the Star last week, advised against rushing the plan.
“Instead, it should look into other alternatives to engage the private security more effectively,” he said.
“Kenya’s 450,000 guards working for over 2,000 registered security companies should be transformed into the first line of preventative action.”
Read also: