Securex Agencies Limited has expressed its concern over the potential risk to security posed by political tension in the build-up to and during the 2017 general election.

 Speaking during a forum for security managers hosted at the Jacaranda Hotel on April 14, 2016, Securex Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Lemmer, noted that the political temperatures are already

building up 16 months to next year’s polls.

 He emphasised the need for the political class to preach tolerance and for the country’s core security organs to increase vigilance and step up their surveillance networks on the ground.

 “We have more or less the same players in the political arena as we did in the 2013 general election. As has been witnessed from the recently-concluded by-elections in Kericho and Malindi as well as the botched Okoa Kenya initiative by the opposition, there is a lot of mistrust around the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. We could see country-wide demonstrations regardless who wins. We need to begin preaching the narrative of tolerance early. As players in the security industry we also need to co-operate with government to keep this tension in check,”said Mr Lemmer.

 Mr Lemmer also highlighted theft and armed robbery, which contributed to 69 per cent of the total criminal activity recorded by the Securex database countrywide in 2015.

 “The terror attack in Brussels, Belgium last month was also an eye-opener for security managers across the world with regards to how the aftermath was handled. Casualties of the despicable acts of terror were not handled at the site of the attack, but rather were evacuated to other facilities such as hotels to be stabilised as emergency response teams were mobilised.

In light of this, participants of the Securex Forum were also taken through a medical first-responder drill that was intended to highlight the importance of training on First Aid and Incident Control for the

workplace,” he said.