Is Nairobi a safe place to go clubbing?

All the comments about bouncers intelligence quotient aside..

Are revellers safe in Nairobi’s clubs anymore?

Avril tweeted about seeing the injuries a young reveller had visited on his person by not 1, not 2 but 4 burly bouncers at Galileo Lounge over the weekend. The sight has her so shaken up that she has decided not to be going out. This resolve is for her own safety.

The protest tweet may have been put up in innocent protest but it has elicited painful memories of recent events that have occurred in Nairobi’s leading night spots. Last year security associated with Psys Bar in Westland beat a 2nd year engineering student from University of Nairobi: one Denis Adari to death. Earlier this month, security at Click were alleged to have been involved in the death of a patron. This is tom-foolery.

Just what is it about Nairobi’s bouncers that make them act just as brashly as the drunks they encounter? Throw jabs 1st, ask questions last. Is one recruitment criteria for bouncers that they must be willing to throw better judgement out of the proverbial window? Acting like Neanderthals seems to be their greater common denominator.

A bouncer’s job is to maintain the peace at a club not violate patrons. Afterall, i have come to the club to spend my hard earned money on my entertainment. Said money goes to your salary amongst other overheads. Show me some respect and at worst some self-restraint.

Well, what are the security teams’ recourse should i act a fool you ask? They should eject me as peacefully as possible and should i still insist to kick up a storm, they should simply call the cops on me. Bouncers need to understand that when things go south, the establishment will hang them out to dry. Management will always distance itself from the controversy. Just look at what happened at Psys. If i die at the hands of the club’s employees, management will throw them out in the legal cold to fend for themselves and lawyer up with a team of sharks to protect the establishment.

The only time a bouncer can get physical should be to restrain, not to inflict pain& bodily harm. Causing harm contravenes the law. In other words, it is illegal. Again, look at the whole scenario objectively, the lad who was on the receiving end of the altercation was drunk and may or may not have been on the wrong and the bouncers may or may not have had a reason to harm him but again, 4 on 1? How do you justify that? 1st we have the bouncers reasoning on the same plane as the drunk lad then they exhibit utter cowardice by pummeling him as a gang of hooligans. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just call the cops to deal with him? Certainly less bloody.

Think about it, are we safe to enjoy our leisure time at these clubs? One death at the hands of staff is one death too many. Bouncers need to be professional. And the clubs management are to blame. If all you look for in security personnel is muscle, you are as liable as they and just as culpable. Due diligence!

That is my humble opinion.