Hundreds Of Thousands To Be Rendered Jobless As Authority Locks Out 1800 Security Firms.

In Kenya, over 1800 security businesses have been barred from participating in a new registration process that would probably result in hundreds of thousands of job losses.

Only 183 companies were permitted to conduct business in the country, according to Fazul Mahamed, director general of the Private Security Regulatory Authority.

About 700,000 private security guards worked for close to 2,000 organizations nationwide as of July of last year.

“Pursuant to Sections 6, 9 (c), 28, 30 (1), 31, and 34 of the Private Security Regulation Act No. 13 of 2016, the Authority hereby notifies private security service providers, users of private security services and the general public that the following companies have been registered and licensed as corporate private security service providers in Kenya,” Fazul said in the notice.

Players in the industry claim that this will be a major setback for job searchers because the action is likely to make things worse. The minimum monthly salary for guards has been set by the government at Sh27,000 in an effort to regulate the industry.

Any private security service will be prohibited from operating a business if they are not registered and have not had a 5-year license, according to the notice that was published. Additionally, it has made the employment, employment, and services of unregistered private security companies unlawful.

Even though the company owners were warned against disobeying the notification, the Private Security Regulatory Authority reaffirmed through the notice that only the 5-year license would be utilized as evidence that a company is registered. Affected businesses, though, have sworn that they would not give up easily.

Cosmas Mutava, the chairman of the Protective Security Industry Association (PSIA), indicated that many employees who relied on the deregistered security firms would lose their jobs even if the Authority warned clients not to use their services.

Mutava argues that this is misplaced because some of these security firms have been operating for several years.

“We have sought audience with the Authority and we have not been granted the opportunity," he stated adding that “going to court will also be an option.” He faulted the move saying that the Authority has no board.

Early in 2022, Fred Matiang'i, the former Cabinet Secretary for Interior, promised that steps would be taken to organize private security companies.

After the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination announced that all private security firms would be subject to vetting and clearance in accordance with the Private Security Regulations Act 2016, the roll-out of vetting and licensing targeting such providers throughout the nation began in 2019.