CoverStory |
KK Security Group IATA Certified
From P31
And then in 1995, we started operations in Uganda. Q: May I ask something at this point about Uganda. A country like Uganda already had security companies. What does it take to get established in a country when you first begin? What was your strategy, what did you do? A: Well, initially you start off by obtaining the right licenses and permits. It takes time and lots of patience. But there was another problem we met in Uganda. All the existing security companies were armed and we were not armed; we don’t deal with arms. We said, ‘OK, fine, we’ll be here but we’ll not do arms. We’ll provide security services, we’ll train guys who know how to handle all sorts of situations and we’ll use armed police as our backup’. Q: But isn’t that tying your hands behind your back – if everyone else is using them? A: No it isn’t. We believe in doing things professionally. So unless you have professional firearm trainers who can instruct guards on the correct use and maintenance of firearms and provide regular refresher training, don’t do arms. That’s not the way things are done in Uganda . Up to this day, we are the only company that doesn’t have guns in Uganda and we still have a lot of clients. Q: Explain that then. Imagine I’m your client. You come up to me and say ‘This is our service’, and I tell you ‘Yes, I’ve always wanted to have someone with a gun at my gate’, and you tell me, ‘Sorry, we don’t do guns’. How are you going to convince me that I am still safe with everyone else having a gun? A: As I mentioned earlier, we have armed police in our response vehicles. If there is an incident which requires arms, the police will provide that element. If you look at any OB [Occurrence Book] in a Ugandan police station, most entries are going to be about a firearm being discharged by guards, either accidentally or intentionally.
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This partnership proved very valuable as we learned how to run an embassy contract
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The client is more at risk with an untrained individual with a gun on his property. Now the Diplomatic Corps don’t want guns. The major hotels like the Serena and Sheraton don’t have guns. They understand that without firearms, the environment is much more friendly. And now the Inspector General of Police has also come out saying, ‘No more guns’. Q: Ok. So what you are saying is the same policy you had used in Kenya, with a focus on professionalism, that’s what led you to oppose the idea of your guards having guns? A: Absolutely. Q: And what worked in Kenya worked in Uganda as well? A: Yes. Q: And you have never found yourself at a disadvantage because your people don’t have guns? A: No. Because we use our response teams which have armed police on board if needed. Q: Ok, so what came after this?
A: Then we opened a sales office in Nairobi in early 1995. We started with two marketers, one ex-policeman and one ex-military, and we got the East African Breweries contract. That was our first major contract outside of Mombasa. Q: But you bid for it as a Mombasabased company? A: We bid for it as a Kenyan company. And in 1996, we bid for the US Embassy contract in Nairobi. Q: I imagine that’s a big contract. A: A very big contract. But it was our first attempt to bid for such a large contract. We lost it to an American company, UIIS (United International Investigative Services). UIIS had a problem securing certain licenses for their alarm transmission. So we offered to provide the alarms infrastructure for them. This partnership proved very valuable as we learned how to run an embassy contract. The contract was for five years. They won a renewal but no longer needed our assistance. But then, a little over two years later, they withdrew, and we took it over and we’ve been there ever since.