Nairobi: Jobless graduates silently taking up freelance bouncer jobs

Some people loosely call them ‘security’ – while others just call them ‘bouncers’.

However, this is not your regular bouncer job – but rather a hustle for survival.

It’s not a job for the feeble and faint-hearted – and it’s often not regulated.

As a requirement, one needs to be physically strong to be able to manage to break up fights and move people when needed.

Ruben Akolo* is a university graduate with a degree in Supplies Chain Management from one of the local universities in Kenya.

The 27-year-old had a few gigs as a ‘bouncer’ in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.

Today, he is a freelance bouncer who works just about anywhere.

“One needs to be as tough as nails to qualify for this job. You also need to have the right body build and temperament,” says Akolo who understands all too well what it takes to work as a ‘security consultant’.

Akolo has not had a full-time job since he graduated from the university in 2021 – which is what pushed him to become a ‘security consultant’ or if you like ‘bouncer’.

While some bouncers are registered under associations, this new group operate like ‘ghosts’.

You do the job, get paid, and off you go until when your services are needed again.

There are no contracts to be signed – all you need to do is avail yourself when asked.

It’s a close knit kind of network and people only get the job through referrals – according to Akolo.

According to Akolo, most politicians prefer school dropouts who will go to any length to do an assignment.

He says he had to lie that he had dropped out of school at Standard Seven to get into the team.

“I remember a friend of mine introduced me to this job. I had told him earlier that I badly needed a job, and then one day he just called me,” says Akolo.

“He told me to dress in a black suit, a white shirt, and then meet him at a certain restaurant in Nairobi.

He would later learn that the job involved accompanying a political aspirant who was eying a seat as a Member of County Assembly.

“On arriving I found six other young men, all of them clad in rough suits. I could tell it was not the first time they were wearing these suits to these assignments,” says Akolo.

“He quickly took us through the requirements of the assignment, which essentially involved escorting this aspirant to a charged political rally.

“We did the job that day and were paid Sh2,000 each. I went back home contented afterwards. The job was smooth,” he says.

“Some people pay up to Sh3,000 per day for activities that happen outside town and needs travel. Otherwise, if it’s within town, you get between Sh1,000 and Sh1,500,” he says.

“They also feed you well,” he says.

A second gig would quickly follow – but this time they would travel to a county neighbouring Nairobi.

“This was a very hostile environment. I remember we arrived in our usual suits with sticks and whips concealed inside the coats. The rally was charged and a fight ensued forcing us to jump into action and protect our man,” he says, noting that he felt cold chill run down his spine.

Akolo quit after just three gigs. He, however, continues to concentrate on less aggressive assignments, like manning clubs as a freelancer.

“Initially bouncer jobs were left to people considered to be crude and rough, but now I have a couple of graduates who are in it,” he says.

This he says is due to the explosion of gym stations in campuses, and around the estates.

He notes that desperation and unemployment is pushing many graduates to take up these kinds of jobs.

Although some employers prefer school-dropouts, he believes that it is only a matter of time before the field is flooded with only graduates.

“I think university graduates can do a better job because they have excellent communication skills, and can make good decisions in critical moments.

“I remember I was taught communication skills at the university, which can come in handy in such jobs,” he says.

Although Kenya’s unemployment rate shrank to 4.9 per cent in the quarter running between October to December 2022, a 0.7 percentage point decline from 5.6 per cent in the corresponding quarter in 2021, many are grappling with joblessness.

Most of those on the streets are university graduates who have spent years in school acquiring skills they believe will help them navigate the job market.