Nairobi (Halbeeg News) – Kenyan government has directed civilians with unregistered arms to surrender their weapons within eight days.
Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons director Mohamed Amin who spoke to the media said estimated over 650,000 illegal arms in the hands of civilians.
The official stated some of those guns have been used to commit including terrorism, robbery, and murder.
Amin said those who will return the guns before September 30 will not be prosecuted.
He said Kenya government has acquired a high-tech machine that will destroy the illegal weapons collected so far.
“The machine is environment-friendly and can crash the weapons to make scrap,” he said.
The destruction of the illegal firearms is slated for December to ensure those recovered don’t slip back into the illegal market.
Efforts by the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons to curb the proliferation of firearms in the past have achieved little, as more people continue to arm themselves either as a status symbol or for criminal purposes.
Furthermore, those in security circles say that by the time the government started cleaning up the Fire Arms Licensing Bureau the rot had become so severe that the files of firearm holders have similar serial numbers.
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