CS’ bodyguard arrested after losing his gun in bar

A police officer attached to a Cabinet Secretary was arrested after he lost his gun in unclear circumstances in Nairobi’s Uhuru Camp area.

The officer told his seniors he had been at a bar in Highrise after his duties and left late on Monday.

He said when he reached his residence at the Uhuru Camp he found the Ceska pistol with 12 bullets missing.

A search was mounted in the area in vain. He was later arrested and was set to appear in court to face charges of failing to secure his weapon.

The incident comes a week after a senior officer in the city lost his weapon in Utawala area and no arrest or recovery has been made.

The Senior Superintendent of Police told his colleagues he was with his friends at a club and had left going home in his car when he suddenly felt dizzy and fell asleep.

He parked his car on the roadside for the sudden nap and when he woke up he realized his CZP pistol with 15 bullets was missing. This was almost ten hours later.

 Police say they are investigating the incidents with an aim of recovering the weapons.

“The weapons can be used in various crimes,” said a senior officer aware of the development.

The incident comes at a time when the Firearms Licensing Board is tightening rules of private gun ownership amid vetting process.

Private gun holders also contend legally licensed weapons are responsible for many crimes in the country.

There are 15,000 private gun owners but authorities say almost 3,000 of the licenses are fake.

The government also cancelled licenses for 21 gun dealers and shooting ranges where all licensed individual guns practice their skills.

But some have had their licenses reinstated by the board.

All licensed gun holders in the country are to undergo a vetting and re-registration exercise and be issued with an electronic identification document.

During the exercise, those with licenses to own guns have to appear in person with their weapons before the board.