Find Security expertise in Kenya
- Overview
- Status of Security
According to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) report released in October 2013, Kenya has experienced a significant decline in national security since the turn of the century. National security was Kenya’s lowest ranking in the report, with the country coming 42nd out of 52 countries. National security was given a rating of 65.9 out of 100, giving the country a 6-year score decline of -16.7. Just prior to the release of the 2013 report Kenya was hit by international terrorists, and is now rated near the bottom of the security report, alongside nations undeveloped countries facing unmanageable security situations. The security situation in Kenya is unlikely to improve while insecurity in Somali is still an issue.
According data provided by the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform in 2005, it is not known exactly how many private security companies there are in Kenya; estimates vary from 400 to 2000. The majority of PSCs are small to medium-sized, employing less than 100 people. In 2005 the sector employed approximately 48,000 people.
The majority of Kenya’s PCSs provide security guard services with some use of technology, while larger companies tend to offer integrated security solutions and smaller companies are restricted to staffed guarding. Clients include industries, banks, government agencies, embassies and international organisations. Prominent security companies in Kenya include Collindale Security, Bob Morgan Services Limited, Ultimate Security Ltd and G4S Security Services Kenya Limited.
Kenya Security Industry Association (KSIA) is one of the industry associations involved in the sector. KSIA was formed with the aim of establishing and maintaining quality standards within the sector, as well as serving as a platform for liaison with government institutions. The standards of the KSIA are set based on national laws.
According to information taken from http://gunpolicy.org/, in 2011 there were 6.3 homicides per 100,000 of the population; statistics on gun related homicides were not available. By comparison, for the same year in Uganda there were 10.9 homicides per 100,000 of the population in 2010.
The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report (2013-2014) gives Kenya a moderate score of 3.7 out of 7, where 7 is the most desirable, for reliability of police services. Crime and violence is reported to have quite serious effects on business in Kenya, the WEF report gave the country a score 3.4 out of 7 in terms of the business cost of these factors. The business cost of terrorism in Kenya is also high, having scored 3.6 out of 7, giving the country a rating of 140 out of 148 countries included in the report. Organised crime in Kenya is also high compared to the rest of the world, scoring 4.1 out of 7, with an overall rating of 115 out of 148.
Regulation
In 2013 Kenya was working towards the establishment of a Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA), which would handle security regulation and legislation, as well as keeping a record of all registered private security companies (PSCs) in Kenya.
The carrying of firearms by private security guards is illegal in Kenya. However, in 2013 national private security firms were calling for the government to review firearms legislation to allow security guards carry guns. The Kenya National Private Security Workers Union (KNPSW) suggested that allowing such measures would be an effective way to curb nationwide insecurities in Kenya.