Kenya to license illicit arms in border areas

Kenya will carry out documentation of illicit arms along international borders that are prone to attacks, a government official said on Tuesday.

Cabinet Secretary for Interior Joseph Nkaissery said in Nairobi the circulation of small weapons poses the greatest threat to the country's security.

"We recognize the fact that there are Kenyans who share borders with hostile communities and disarming them will leave them prone to attacks, hence our desire to license their weapons, even though illicit," Nkaissery said.

"The security challenges facing the country are a matter of great concern and we must do everything possible to assure them of adequate security and guarantee them of safe environment that enables business and investment to thrive," Nkaissery said.

He told a meeting of Regional Coordinators and County Commissioners in Nairobi that voluntary disarmament will also be carried out in cattle-rustling prone areas to address the problem of small arms and illicit weapons which are fuelling cattle rustling and ethnic conflicts.

"To ensure this is done, you should start mapping out areas with proliferation of small arms and light weapons so as to launch the disarmament exercise as soon as possible," the CS told the commissioners.

Much of East Africa and the Horn of Africa is flooded with guns, predominantly small arms and a large number of those weapons have spilled over into Kenya. Endi