It will be a tall order for Mombasa residents who are planning to buy pangas as the government will be watching them.
Speaking during Madarak Day celebrations on Saturday, Mombasa County commissioner Evans Achoki said traders will be recording details of anyone buying a machete.
While addressing residents at the Tononoka Grounds in Mombasa, Achoki said such buyers should explain why they need a panga.
“Mombasa has no forests and we wonder why people are buying so many pangas. The county security committee has therefore asked all traders to record details of those buying the pangas to monitor how they use them,” Achoki said.
He did not, however, explain the procedure that traders will use to register such buyers or where the details will be kept.
The commissioner also complained over the rate of drug trafficking in the coast region. He called on landlords to be alert and make sure they report those involved in drug peddling.
“We are concerned that drug traffickers operate in houses but landlords do not give information to the police. We now want them to register tenants including keeping numbers of their national identity cards,” he said.