Silas Nyamweya had a candid discussion with Mr. Leonard Orlando, a private investigator on various aspects related to his line of duty. This is how the conversation went…
Mr.
When does a Kenyan need a private investigator apart from when sniffing adultery in a marriage?
Kenyans need to conduct investigation when doing businesses, recruiting employees and when buying property. They also seek for private investigation when they want to enter in any form of relationship or partnership.
What services do you offer to corporate and small businesses?
As professional investigators we specialize in unearthing internal fraud and theft. We also conduct background checks and due diligence investigation.
Kenyan law recognizes right to privacy but your work sometimes involves hidden cameras, an invasion of privacy, right?
True. However, a Private Investigator cannot enter a property, house, or a building through illegal means, including breaking and entering. You have to obtain permission from an individual (owner) and a government authority to access the property.
What part of Kenyan law guides Private Investigators?
PRIVATE SECURITY REGULATION ACT 2016. Section 46. Subsection (1) states that “In exercise of the citizens right to arrest, a private security service provider, a security guard or a security officer may arrest a person who commits an offence within the premises in which that provider, guard or officer is responsible for and immediately hand over the person to the nearest police station or post”.
Was there a time you got almost caught by the party you were investigating?
No because we are professional enough and we are lucky that we have never been caught during our investigative work.
Which was the hardest case to crack and why?
There is no easy case in this industry; we get very tough cases every time. But we always crack them, whatever time it takes.
You must have had hilarious and memorable encounters in your line of work. Mention three…
At one point when I was conducting an investigation a client forwarded a list of people to be investigated and one of them was my relative.
Which weird demands from clients do you turn down?
Some people (clients) may recommend unethical practices that would put an individual in danger, like obtaining information for non-investigative purposes, or using unscrupulous methods. One example would be locating an individual and providing that person’s information to a stalker or person who might put that person’s safety at risk. We also get doctored reports.
Your services are mostly sought after by the rich. How come?
We have clients across the social fabric. Not just rich people. But our major clients are corporate and business owners.
What is the difference between the cases men and women bring to you?
A majority of women, in most cases, want us to provide services for them about their partners. Men too wants their wives or girlfriends investigated, but a good number of men seek for services like back ground on employees or due diligence on other business related issues.
Most people seek private investigators with sinister motives, when aggrieved or when nabbing a cheating spouse. What happy cases do you get?
In the world of investigation when you get an assignment and conduct it to clients full satisfaction, that is what we call being happy.
Which is the furthest place have you ever gone to investigate a case and what were the issues?
We have travelled to many countries among them Dubai, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong among others.
Where does one learn to be a private investigator?
Most of our investigators are highly trained from police, intelligence service and have also acquired relevant qualification from recognized Universities.
Do you sometimes collide with police when doing investigations? Or what is your relationship with them?
In Private Investigation you have to work hand in hand with government authorities. The Police, for instance sometimes provide us with helpful information and we also share with them in some very extreme cases.
What kind of cases do politicians bring to you?
Most politicians seat in corporate boards and the majority are lawyers. They also run businesses where they contact us for investigations.
Does all the information and cases in your head sometimes wear you down psychologically?
Every job has its fair share of challenges. However, just because a particular assignment was not successful as you wanted it to be, it’s good to give your mind enough time to relax before you embark on it again.
Some Kenyans shun you fearing you’re expensive. How are the charges calculated?
Our charges are based on the client requirements, terms of reference, the evidence they are looking up to get and the location of the case under investigation.
What do the cases you handle tell you about Kenyans?
Majority of Kenyans have a notion of getting rich fast and they also end up engaging themselves in unlawful activities like fraud. They also do not trust each other.
What challenges do you face in this industry?
There is lack of a centralized government information Centre. Investigation also requires a lot patient; it can take days, weeks or even months before finishing an assignment and you have to update your clients all the time. Again due to rights to privacy, sometimes a small assignment can take longer to investigate.
How does one distinguish a fake and a genuine private investigation company?
It’s a duty of a client to visit the offices of a company that is doing investigations since most private investigators in Kenya are briefcase operators and they end up spending their clients’ money without delivery.
