I’m part of the problem – VIP guard lifts lid on criminal practices
· Citizen
A private VIP security guard has lifted the lid on alleged criminal practices inside parts of SA’s private security sector, claiming guards are routinely handed firearms they are not legally competent to use and, in some cases, are deployed to stage burglaries and robberies.
The 48-year-old KwaZulu-Natal-based guard, who cannot be named for fear of retaliation, said some security personnel were also used to intimidate businesses and individuals who refused to pay protection fees.
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Criminal practices inside security sector
He claimed guards were sometimes presented as debt collectors to provide cover for harassment and intimidation.
According to the guard, access to firearms and trained personnel has become a major incentive for criminals seeking to establish front security companies.
He alleged that some criminals establish front companies to obtain and stockpile firearms, including high-calibre rifles and automatic weapons, while using armed guards to enforce business interests and allegedly participate in extortion and turf wars.
The allegations come as the country’s private security industry faces growing scrutiny over the movement of firearms, the vetting of security personnel and the ability of regulators to identify companies potentially infiltrated by organised crime.
The guard also described a lucrative market for VIP protection services, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, where taxi violence and targeted killings have fuelled demand for armed close-protection.
He said taxi owners, businesspeople and celebrities were among those seeking protection after receiving threats or warnings that they could be targeted by professional hitmen, commonly known as izinkabi.
VIP protection becomes status symbol in KZN
“Many security companies, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, solely survive by providing close protection,” he said.
But the guard claimed VIP protection had also become a status symbol, with some wealthy clients employing armed protection even when there was no identifiable threat to their lives.
For some companies, he said, the attraction was not simply the security business itself, but access to firearms and personnel capable of carrying them.
Civic organisation Forum For South Africa (Fosa) has expressed concern about the possibility of legitimate security structures being infiltrated, captured or exploited by organised crime networks.
“We cannot allow private security to become a back door into critical infrastructure and institutions,” Tebogo Mashilompane, the organisation’s leader, said.
“The government and the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority [Psira] must strengthen vetting, inspections, firearm controls, ownership checks, financial scrutiny and intelligence-led monitoring of security companies and security personnel.
Calls for stronger vetting inspections and firearm controls
“Companies that provide security services to the state must be subjected to the highest possible standards of accountability and integrity.”
Mashilompane called for stronger cooperation between Psira, the SA Police Service and other law-enforcement structures to identify and dismantle criminal networks attempting to penetrate the industry.
This was not about attacking legitimate security companies or the thousands of honest security officers who protect South Africans every day, but about protecting them and the country, Mashilompane said.
This dangerous phenomenon must be tackled before criminal infiltration becomes institutionalised, he added.
“Fosa demands stronger background and criminal vetting, strict firearm accountability and auditing, regular inspections of security companies, greater scrutiny of beneficial ownership and company structures, protection of state infrastructure from criminal infiltration and swift investigation of links between security businesses and organised crime.
“South Africa has enough organised crime already. We cannot allow the very industry tasked with protecting our people, businesses and public institutions to become a weapon in the hands of criminals.”