Revisit training of all security guards

Arnold Ainebyona Mugisha, a co-owner of Hickory Bar and Restaurant in Kololo, Kampala, was shot dead following what was said to have been an argument between him and a security guard at Quality Shopping Village in Namugongo on Tuesday.

It is alleged that the deceased had after shopping at the supermarket, pushed a trolley that ended up scratching and denting a parked car. In an altercation that followed, it is alleged he knocked a guard’s leg as he attempted to drive away causing another guard to shoot him.

Only two years ago, we witnessed another death involving a scratched car when Mathew Kanyamunyu, a businessman, allegedly shot dead children rights activist Kenneth Akena near Oasis Mall at Lugogo in Kampala. The case is still in court.

Reports of people being killed in cold blood is a development that is becoming common in our media.
In fact, Ainebyona’s death comes barely two weeks after a boda boda rider’s death at the hands of yet-to-be identified thugs was captured on CCTV cameras and made rounds on social media.
Investigations are yet to release a clear report on who the perpetrators could be.
Yet, here we are, entangled in another death this time reportedly occasioned by a security guard that many of us believe is trained on human rights and how and when to use a gun.

These are the concerns that are raised each time a similar incident happens. We must make the training of security guards thorough before they are deployed. Or better still, issuing guns to some of the private security guards should be highly regulated. Security guards should also be given alarm bells, which they can use to signal when they are in danger and need reinforcement.

It is apparent that many of the security guards in the country are not trained in basic defence and anger management skills.

But as a matter of fact, security guards will always meet people whom they may find difficult to deal with in their line of duty. But the solution should never be to shoot to kill. One of the obligations of private security organisations is to ensure strict observance of human rights.

Taking anyone’s life after an argument is the greatest abuse of human rights. But such incidents should provide lessons to everyone that anger often escalates the problem rather than solve it.