Anti-terror war has been taken to new heights as hundreds of thousands of guards in private security sector are set to receive anti-terror skills.
Besides training on basic procedures, the guards will be equipped with skills to detect security risks, threats, hazards and how to respond effectively in collaboration with other agencies.
The close to 700,000 private guards in Kenya will get the comprehensive training as the government seeks to raise their calibre to match the need for their services.
A draft of a curriculum to be rolled out by the government shows they will be equipped with skills that go beyond the routine sentry and guard work.
The curriculum is an initiative of the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA).
Crucially, the curriculum has a component on counter-terrorism, informed by rising threats, whose outcomes have left private security guards among the victims.
These would be complemented by training on emergency responses, health and safety, effective communication and conflict management, handling of equipment, ethics and integrity, report writing and career progression.
The team that drafted the syllabus was drawn from PSRA, National Police Service, National Intelligence Service, Kenya Defence Forces and security experts.
Anyone wishing to be a guard would have to attend 240 hours of training before being allowed into the field.
Based on an ordinary eight-hour working day, that translates to a month of training.
A hundred and sixty hours or 20 days would be for attachment. Existing guards will take a 40-hour refresher course.
The training durations are contained in a draft syllabus seen by the Nation.
The draft says the heaviest emphasis would be on emergency first aid, where new guards will spend 12 hours in training while the existing ones will take six hours.
There is a course on counter-terrorism that will take at least six hours for the new entrants.