Scam 'the weak link' in tests to own guns
Nairobi
By
Cyrus Ombati
| Feb 25, 2019
A scandal involving payment of bribes to obtain a medical certificate confirming one's mental fitness could be the weak link in the vetting of civilians seeking to own guns.
Last Friday, officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested a senior medic at the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital on bribery allegations.
The official is said to have demanded bribes from firearm owners set to undergo a mandatory psychiatric evaluation, which is part of a rigorous vetting process for firearm owners seeking to be licensed.
The hospital is said to have declined to issue receipts for a Sh5,000 fee for the evaluation.
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The suggestion that Mathare staff could be giving clean bills of health to applicants without having them assessed by a psychiatrist could explain past cases of licensed gun holders caught misusing the firearms or being trigger-happy.
In December 2017, a mentally challenged suspect was admitted to a hospital in Westlands while in possession of a gun after he declined to surrender to the hospital’s security. The patient later shot dead a nurse who had been attending to him. The case is in court.
On Friday, EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak said firearm holders who visited the Mathare facility had complained that the process was being abused.
“We conducted covert operations at the hospital where we obtained recordings of the bribe demands by the suspect and others. The psychiatric evaluation exercise at Mathare Hospital has since been suspended until further notice,” said Mr Twalib.
The Firearms Licensing Board has been vetting civilian gun holders since February 4 and the postponement of the exercise in Nairobi means the board may not meet its March 7 deadline.
Section Five of the Firearms Act requires that a firearm certificate be granted by the licensing officer only if satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for purchasing, acquiring or having the firearm or ammunition without posing a danger to public safety or the peace.
One needs, among others, a psychiatric evaluation report and a certificate of good conduct to be issued with a certificate.
The vetting team will also address the ownership of armoured vehicles and shooting ranges.
The government wants to electronically register all licensed gun holders and also establish, maintain and monitor a centralised electronic register of all private citizens holding firearms.