Deputy President William Ruto checks illegal firearms before they were burnt in Ngong in November 2016. [Photo/nation.co.ke]
Kenya has been commended for making exemplary progress in marking firearms owned by the government.
Speaking during a workshop on misuse of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the region, the Director of the Kenya National focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (KNFP/SALW) Marcus Ochola said the government has marked 98% of all firearms held by security officers in the country.
Arms Marking and electronic record keeping assists in identification and tracing especially when investigating crime.
Kenya has also consistently held destruction exercises for obsolete/unserviceable arsenal; recently being the destruction of 15,000 firearms and ammunition in July 2017.
Mr. Ochola was speaking on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of Government Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
Marking of firearms is one of the deliverables for the 15 Member States to the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Great Lakes Region, Horn of Africa and Bordering States.
The marking and destruction of firearms is among Arms control exercises supported by the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA); which is the secretariat of the Nairobi Protocol.
Kenya's neighbor, Uganda, was also noted as a success case-study on civilian disarmament with reference to the Karamoja disarmament program, which was complemented by the provision of alternative livelihood, education and enhancement of State Security.
The RECSA Executive Secretary Mr. Théoneste Mutsindashyaka urged regional States to adopt the Uganda model on their responses towards curbing cattle rustling which has been turned from a cultural affair to a commercial and political issue owing to the easy availability of firearms especially the AK47 and SMG. AfDB Senior Policy adviser Dr. Olofunso Somorin and the European Union Representative Mr. Jean-Pierre Bardoul reiterated their support for RECSA
interventions on controlling proliferation of arms, noting that their institutions were cognizant of the indivisibility of development and security.