Kenya engages her neighbours to fight weapon smuggling

Interior PS Dr. Raymond Omollo gives his remarks during the official launch of the National Farmer registration Trainer-of-Trainers (ToT) training for Assistant Country Commissioners at the Kenya School of Government on January 4, 2023. [Kelly Ayodi, Standard]

Kenya is now engaging her neighbours to fight the cross-border smuggling of illegal firearms which have been fueling violent conflicts and crimes in the region.

Interior Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo has said the government has reached out to Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Somalia.

According to Omollo, the collaboration with the said countries is aimed at stepping up joint efforts against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons among border and nomadic communities.

"Due to their easy availability and low cost, these are the weapons of choice for terrorists, insurgents, and criminal gangs in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa," he said.

The PS says that Kenya's prime focus is to reduce the availability of these weapons, which is expected to end years of inter-communal conflicts, banditry and livestock rustling.

PS Omollo says that illegal weapons have made Kenya pay a high cost of losing lives and livelihood for communities in the North Rift, Northern Frontier Counties and some parts of the Eastern region.

He said that the three regions cumulatively account for approximately 30 per cent of all small arms and light weapons in Kenya, hindering their development.

He added that the government is committed to establishing a robust border control system with next-level technology to beat criminals and smugglers who continue to devise new ways to profit from the trade.

"Those of us in the security sector can attest to the complexity of these criminals' methods and the extension of their networks. This move will help us conduct surveillance and respond to illegal crossing and movement of illicit goods, including dangerous weapons," he said.

The PS was speaking in Nairobi during the opening ceremony of a three-day workshop organized by the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA), as the Centre seeks to strengthen cross-border arms control cooperation.

The workshop brought together various local, regional and international law enforcement agencies, and the discourse will revolve around enhancing the SALW marking, record-keeping and tracing regime.

Lt. Gen. Badreldin Elamin Abdelgadir, RECSA Executive Secretary, emphasized the importance of enhancing cross-border capacity to counter illicit trafficking of weapons which will directly complement national, regional and global instruments, key among them the Nairobi Protocol on the Prevention, Control and Reduction of SALW in the Great Lakes Region, Horn of Africa and Bordering States.

"The development and implementation of border security and management strategies; efforts to detect and seize parts and components of weapons and ammunition; enhanced stockpile management; and the fight against the illicit manufacture of weapons are effective tools to disrupt the supply of illicit small arms and light weapons to unintended end users," noted Gen. Abdelgadir.

According to the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization/Counter-Terrorism Centre of Excellence (EAPCCO-CTCoE) the most notorious weapons used by terrorists, bandits and armed gangsters include the Kalashnikov rifle (AK47), colt M16, H&K G3 rifle, PKM machinegun and RPG7.

"All these weapons have serial numbers and can be easily traced to manufacturers if governments were to take this menace seriously," said the Deputy Director, Gideon Kibunjah.