Fear Security Guards could be recruitted into Al-Shabaab

By Our Reporter

There is fear that Security guards in East Africa states particularly Kenya may be lured into joining terrorists activities due to poor pay.
   

The countries top Intelligence service; National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) has been called upon to investigate all security firms to establish whether they were in genuine business.
 

Al-Shabaab group in Somalia.Picture Courtesy.

Union leaders who met at the Capital, Nairobi on Sunday, July 22 claimed that some bogus firms purported to employ desperate
 Kenyans before handing them over to the Al -Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab militia.
    

 The guards said they wanted NSIS to
 intervene because tracing such firms had become difficult since they had no physical address or office, but preferred conducting recruitment on the streets of Mombasa and Nairobi

 The revelation comes in the wake of
 serious terrorists threat facing the country as her troops who were rehatted into the Africa Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) continue to battle Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
 

The officials who met and made the revelation were from Kenya National Private Security Workers’ Union branch officials and included Geoffrey Oyulo from Nakuru, Peter Odima (Eldoret), Christansus Wamalabe (Mombasa), Hanningtone Otieno (Kisumu) and Francis Madegwa Kakamega.

They said they have decided to open up the matter despite fearing for their lives as they alleged that some of the bogus firms
belonged to influential individuals.
    

The union officials claimed that they had recently written a letter to the Ministry of Labor concerning certain security firms, which they wanted them to be investigated over
poor terms and conditions of service.

“The Al -Shabaab threat has taken a different dimension because some briefcase companies are recruiting people to join the militants. They don’t vet recruits but retain their ID cards,” claimed Wamalabe.
    

The Union’s Director of Operations
 Thomas Kiptoo said they had decided to petition the government through the Geneva based International Labor Organization after local attempts failed.
    

“The government is giving contracts to
small companies which are paying below the Minimum Wage Order. This in turn is compromising security especially when
we are faced with terror threats. Important government buildings and installations should be guarded by well-paying companies,” he added.