Having poorly paid, armed guards will be disastrous

The police have been praised for their swift response during the recent terror attack at dusitD2 in Nairobi. The response was better compared to the Westgate attack in 2013, where officers from different formations were fighting over who would take charge of the rescue operation rather than save lives.

However, the bottom line is people were killed in both attacks. Overpraising the officers for their response is trying to blind ourselves to the realities of the latest attack. As we seek to address insecurity in Kenya, the focus should not be on responding to attacks but detecting and foiling them before they happen.

That is why we have intelligence departments in almost all security agencies. And the question would be; are our intelligence officers getting the right training or are they just reluctant to do their job? Or maybe the information they give is not acted upon as was the case in 2007 when the police headquarters was accused of ignoring intelligence about a planned attack in Mathira, Nyeri County, where members of the outlawed Mungiki sect later butchered 29 people at dawn.

We must also ask ourselves how foreigners, some with intention to harm us, gain access to our country yet our borders are manned 24/7. How do they pass through all the roadblocks to Nairobi and other towns? Well, the answer is simple; our security officers have been compromised, yet it seems there is nothing much the Government is doing to deal with wayward security officials.

Inspector General Joseph Boinnet has not made things any better. Instead of addressing these issues, he has been preoccupied with defending his charges whenever they are accused of wrongdoing, at times blindly. It is after the Dusit attack that the proposal to arm private security guards was made. This proposal was out of desperation.

Some people feel the guards, as the first line of defence, will be able to confront terrorists, in case of an attack, and save lives and property, before the police can respond. Kenya will not be the first country to arm private guards if the proposal succeeds. However, a word of caution; let us first address fundamental issues before giving guns to guards.

For instance, we must start by improving their salaries and general working conditions. Most guards have complained of poor pay. It will be a disaster to have a hungry, angry but armed guard. Gerald Aruna, Nairobi.