Kenyan Parliament will make a decision on whether private security guards should have firearms. The National Assembly is to make changes to the Private Security Regulations Bill which is scheduled for the Committee of the Whole House.
“A person who contravenes the provision of this section commits an offence and shall in addition to cancellation of license, be liable on conviction to a penalty prescribed in this Act or any other written law, whichever is higher,” the proposal reads. “A private security guard who pawns, sells, loses by neglect, makes away with or willfully or negligently damages any firearm or ammunition commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand, or both,” the proposal reads. The Bill seeks to establish a more regulated framework for private security guards in the country. It gives them powers of arrest and established a Private Security Regulatory Authority to handle the industry.
While the Committee on Security has proposed that guns should not be allowed, Makadara MP Benson Mutura wants the guards to have them. The proposal by the Committee which is chaired by Tiaty MP Asman Kamama is that a private security service provider shall not use or allow the use of firearms in the rendering of a security service. But Mutura proposes that a private security guard can possess a firearm while on duty on condition that they are serving on a written contract. He adds that the guards must be in possession of a certificate of good conduct and must have undergone at least six months training, at the cost of the employer. They must also have no history of drug abuse or mental instability, as certified by a government medical practitioner. The guard must also surrender the gun to the nearest police station for safekeeping whenever he or she is not on duty, Mutura proposes.
