This archive report was first published on 21 September 2019.
On International Peace Day, marked as Africa Amnesty month, the Kenyan government announced a voluntary surrender of illegal firearms.
According to the Director of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms (KNFP), Mohamed Amin, all illegal gun holders have until September 30, 2019, to surrender their firearms anonymously without fear of prosecution.
As part of the amnesty period, the government has seized 8,000 firearms from civilians over the last year, which will be destroyed by KNFP and the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) in accordance with the Nairobi protocol on Small Arms and Light weapons.
Police Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai had previously issued an arrest warrant for over 4,000 gun holders who failed to surrender their firearms on July 5, 2019.
Of the 9,398 registered gun owners vetted, 6,958 were cleared, while 4,407 were not present for the mandatory vetting exercise.
The operation is part of the Interior Ministry's efforts to address a surge in gun-related crime in the country.
Published on September 21, 2019.
