State to Vet Security Guards in Universities, Colleges

The government has called a meeting with learning institutions across the country following an increase of insecurity in and around universities in Kenya.

In a letter sent to all security managers of universities and tertiary institutions, Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) CEO Fazul Mahamed requested that they (public and private) attend a meeting to ensure that they are safe and secure.

“In view of the foregoing, the government has commenced mandatory nationwide security vetting, training and licensing of all in-house security officers employed by institutions of higher learning, contracted private security officers and all officers offering security services, be they employed by the said institutions or otherwise engaged as private security service providers,” he said in the notice.

He said the authority has organised a sensitisation forum to be held at the Kenya School of Government on February 22, 2024.

Universities in Kenya, once hailed as citadels of education, are turning into killer zones.
A number of students have recently lost their lives on campus, sparking national outrage.

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Security experts, police and student leaders agree on common issues that contribute to insecurity on campuses.

Key among them are alcoholism, drug abuse, deteriorating morals, poverty, peer pressure, poor parenting, misuse of the internet and the ever-evolving cyberspace.

Students who find themselves on the wrong side of the law often have a history of delinquency.
These habits include prostitution and gang membership.

The PSRA has introduced plans to make it compulsory for employers of its nearly one million members who are security guards to earn the minimum wage gazetted by the government.
The regulations also require all guards to have a Guard Force Number (GFN).
The GFN is the only proof that a private security guard has been duly registered.

The authority has cautioned that any person who “hires, employs or otherwise engages security officers who are not security vetted, duly trained, registered and licensed by the authority; commits an offence and shall be liable to both such fine and imprisonment.’’

Last week, the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) cancelled the certificates of registration and licenses of nine private security companies over non-compliance.

In a gazette notice dated January 5, 2024, Mahamed stated that the blacklisted companies had breached four regulations as guided in the Private Security Regulation Act No. 13 of 2016.

Mahamed noted that the nine have been found to have breached the provisions of the aforesaid Act and also violated the terms and conditions attached to their certificates of registration as corporate private security service providers.