Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery appoints Firearms Licensing Board

Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Joseph Nkaissery. (Photo: Boniface Okendo/Standard) 

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery has appointed the Firearms Licensing Board. This comes after a court ruled that Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho’s guns drama can only be handled by the board and not the CS or police.

The chairman of the board is Maj Gen (Rtd) Enoch Sasia while members include Lilian Kiamba (DCI), Stanley Omucheyi (Police), Barnice Gachegu (Attorney General), Anthony Wahome (National Gun Owners Association of Kenya), William Sing’oei (KWS), George Waiguru (NIS), James Ngului (Police) and Samuel Kimaru (Police) as the secretary.

According to a gazette notice, the appointment will be for a three year period starting March 16, 2016.

The High Court stopped the CS and police from confiscating the governor’s guns or arresting him. This was after the CS and police directed him to surrender the weapons or risk arrest.

Under the new controversial Security Laws Amendment Act 2014, the Firearms Act has been amended and the Firearms Licensing Board established.

The law says the Board shall be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary and shall consist of a Chairman and two representatives from the National Police Service; one of whom shall be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, one representative from the Office of the Attorney-General and one representative from a private members group of lawfully registered gun owner.

Other representatives will be from Kenya Wildlife Service, National Intelligence Service, the National Focal Point and there shall be a secretariat.

“The persons serving as licensing officers immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to be officers of the Secretariat to certify suitability of applicants and periodically assess proficiency of firearms holders and issue, cancel, terminate or vary any licence or permit issued under this Act,” says the law.

The secretariat shall also register civilian firearm holders, dealers and manufactures of firearms under the Act, register, supervise, and control all shooting ranges that are registered under the law, establish, maintain and monitor a centralised record management system and perform such other functions as the Cabinet Secretary may prescribe from time to time.

The law says no person shall manufacture, assemble, purchase, acquire or have in his possession an armoured vehicle unless he holds a certificate of approval issued.

Those found with illegal weapons are liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and not more than fifteen years.

Gun holders usually go through rigorous process before they are issued with such a weapon.

Before one is allowed to own a gun, he or she is supposed to apply through an OCS who forwards to the OCPD who convenes a meeting of the district intelligence and security officers for review before it is sent to the county commanders for approval.

There are about 6,000 licensed gun holders in the country. Recently, there have been reports some gun holders are illegally having the weapons after bribing to get permits from the Chief Firearms Licensing Officer, prompting Nkaissery to order that all gun holders apply for their permits afresh.