Govt Orders Vetting, Training of Bouncers

The Private Security Regulatory Authority has ordered a mandatory nationwide vetting, training and licensing of bouncers.

Also targeted are events security and other security personnel in entertainment, recreational and sporting establishments.

This follows a series of incidents where the targeted personnel were involved with their supposed-to-be clients.

One of the conditions will include having the targeted group join associations before they are hired.

They will now be required to join registered agencies that will be used in hiring and training before they are deployed.

PSRA Director General Fazul Mahamad wrote to the group inviting them for the planned training sessions saying they are mandatory.

He said PSRA is charged with the responsibility of regulating the Private Security Industry in accordance with the law and the values and principles set out in the Constitution.

Section 2 of the Private Security Regulation Act No. 13 of 2016 provides that bouncers, event security personnel, VIP protection personnel, Crowd Control Personnel or any other person hired or otherwise engaged to ensure order and safety on premises used for entertainment, recreational or sporting purposes falls within the legal definition of a private security service provider under the Act.

Further, sections 21 and 28 of the Act require that no person shall engage in the provision of private security services unless that person has been security vetted, registered and licensed in accordance with the PSRA Act.

“In view of the foregoing, the government has commenced the mandatory nationwide security vetting, training and licensing of all bouncers, bodyguards, event stewards, door supervisors, event security, VIP protection, close protection, and crowd control security personnel.”

“In this regard, the Authority has organized a sensitization forum at the Sarova Stanley Hotel on Wednesday, 10th January 2024 at 8:30 A.M,” said part of the letter dated January 8.

The forum will be free of charge and those responsible for the groups have been asked to get in touch with PSRA for planning purposes.

The training will be escalated to other regions.

This comes less than a week after a group of bouncers at the Kettle Bar and Restaurant in Lavington, Nairobi were engaged in a violent scuffle with police and journalists.

The bouncers attacked the victims who were accompanying the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) injuring them.

Their equipment were also damaged.

This was during an operation targeting shisha smoking at the joint.