Underworld figures and “bad actors” are using security companies as cover for their activities, raising public safety concerns, according to a private security expert.
The warning comes in the wake of the fatal shooting incident last week at Solo restaurant in Sandton. Gauteng businessman Sphamandla Mabonga was one of three people who died after an apparent standoff between security guards at the establishment and his bodyguards.
The incident has prompted widespread concerns about the conduct of some private security personnel, particularly bodyguards in the employ of powerful businesspeople, including those linked to criminal activity.
“Moneyed individuals who are bad actors or who have links to the underworld are buying up security companies,” said Chad Thomas, a security expert and CEO of Johannesburg-based IRS Forensic Investigations. “We're seeing this all the time. All these bad actors are using fronts to buy up security companies. They use them for their egos and as proxy armies,” Thomas told TimesLIVE Premium on Monday.
These “bad actors” used the private security banner as a guise to back up their operations and intimidate people. In some cases they travelled in vehicle convoys much like politicians. “They are using security companies now to settle scores, to bully and harass. It's a deplorable situation where money can buy you a militia,” Thomas said.
He said the involvement of private security provided a veneer of legitimacy to otherwise crooked operations, with police also less likely to interfere with private security personnel.
Some private security companies also remained unregistered, creating an additional headache for the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA), according to Gareth Newham from the Institute for Security Studies.
“They are under-resourced given the large number of private security companies that exist and need to be monitored. There are over 16,000 active private security companies registered with PSiRA ... The PSiRA annual report for 2023-24 shows that they were able to conduct compliance inspections at 7,886 security businesses,” Newham told TimesLIVE Premium.
The private security sector is now one of the country's biggest employers, whose members far outnumber South African Police Service boots on the ground which were recorded at about 180,000 in the SAPS annual report of 2023.
Newham acknowledged concerns about the extent to which some private security companies used firearms, including high-calibre weapons. However, private security staff and private citizens were entitled to carry these weapons provided they had the appropriate SAPS licence.
“Yes, there are concerns about the extent to which some in the private security industry operate when it comes to the use of firearms. But private citizens, including those in private security are legally entitled to carry handguns, shotguns, semi-automatic rifles and bolt action rifles provided they have the appropriate licence from the South African Police Service,” he said.
“In relation to the situation that occurred in Sandton, it looks as if the person who required bodyguards was the problem. Typically, personal bodyguards take their cue from those that pay them for protection. If this person is a law-abiding citizen then their bodyguards will behave appropriately and will not overstep the bounds,” Newham said.
Thomas said Psira was attempting to rein in private security, particularly at nightclubs where many undocumented foreign nationals had been arrested. “Psira is trying, but it is a mammoth task given the size of the industry.”
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