This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
Kenya's Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai has declared that the owners of over 4,000 unlicensed civilian guns are wanted criminals. The police boss made the declaration after the gun holders failed to honor a seven-day ultimatum issued last week.
According to reports, the list of 4,293 unlicensed gun owners has been submitted to all Regional Commanders, who have been directed to begin recovering the firearms and make arrests with immediate effect.
February 2019, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i ordered the Civilian Firearms Licensing Board to conduct a rigorous vetting exercise of all firearms dealers, civilian firearm holders, and shooting range owners to ascertain the authenticity and proficiency of their licenses.
During the exercise, the Board vetted 9,398 registered gun owners and cleared 6,958. It also confiscated 1,493 firearms and 21,732 assorted ammunition.
As of July 4, 2019, only 50 firearms had been surrendered to Police Stations countrywide and 64 to the Firearms Licensing Bureau. Families of deceased gun holders have been advised to surrender the firearms to the Fire Arms Licensing Bureau or the nearest police station within 24 hours.
