A Day in Life of a Spearfish Regional Security Advisor – East Africa

Ibrahim Bulle has been working for Spearfish since 2018. Based in Nairobi, Kenya – Ibrahim works with our clients across the region including Ethiopia. He loves to read and an avid fan of Investigative documentaries.

It has been an especially busy few months as Spearfish’s East Africa Regional Security Advisor. I’m based in Nairobi, Kenya and my day-to-day work involves providing safety and security support to our clients. This work entails pre-travel assessments for clients coming into the region as well as on the ground support that allows them to carry out their tasks safely.  

Over the last few years, I’ve responded to some dramatic incidents in East Africa, such as the Dusit D2 attack in January 2019, Ethiopia’s attempted coup in June 2019, and many other critical events that required me to support clients. My job during these incidents is to provide real-time security information to help the clients understand what is going on and how the events are unfolding, and to facilitate their relocation or evacuation if needed. I also act as the link between international staff/field staff and their colleagues and project managers back home – this is especially important where the government shuts down the internet and other means of communication. 

The pandemic has created a very different environment for us, and we’ve found ourselves supporting clients in assessing their COVID-19 return to work procedures. With our “back to work” support, we’ve been helping clients prepare office spaces, accommodation and their own personal procedures to minimize exposure to the disease. This doesn’t mean the other threats our clients face have gone away, far from it. The reality is that in many cases, these threats have increased. This is largely due to the economic pressure placed on communities due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, as well as rising political tensions and conflicting views over governments’ response to the pandemic.  

The region is facing some unprecedented difficulties, but I know we’ll get through it and I’m extremely proud to be working with the Spearfish team providing that much needed support to our clients across East Africa.