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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Agency tells civilian gun owners to appear for vetting

Nairobi

By Cyrus Ombati | Jan 31, 2019

**Chairman of Firearms Licensing Board Charles Mukindia**

Firearm certificate holders in Nairobi will undergo mandatory vetting from Monday next week. The Firearms Licensing Board has said the vetting process for civilian gun owners will start on February 4.

Chairman Charles Mukindia said the process is mandatory and those targeted in Nairobi region will appear before a team at the Police Pavilion in South C from February 4 to 7.

“They are supposed to appear with all their supporting documents for the licences acquired, all firearms and ammunitions and the holders need to book online through www.firearms .or.ke,” said Mukindia.

He added that civilian gun holders in other regions will be informed when their vetting will be done.

Upon verification, certificate holders shall proceed to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation headquarters for ballistic analysis.

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Those exempted from the vetting and not required to book are personnel who are serving and retired from Kenya Defence Forces, National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Intelligence Service, Kenya Forest Service and those from security sector, said Mukindia.

“However, they will be required to fill in a form and obtain a unique identification number from the vetting venue and then proceed to DCI for ballistic tests,” he added.

The ballistic analysis test will cost Sh2,000 while the new smart card will require Sh5,000, the board said.

“A new license smartcard shall be issued after ten working days after vetting of an individual,” said the chairman.

Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, Mukindia said there are 15,000 licensed gun holders in the country but almost 3,000 of them have fake licenses.

The move follows Monday’s withdrawal of a suit lodged by the National Gun Owners Association to stop planned mandatory vetting of civilian firearm holders.

The association, in a consent registered in court said they had withdrawn the matter to enable regulation and digitization of records.

The consent was drawn by Ochieng, Onyango, Kibet and Ohaga advocates and addressed to the deputy registrar of the High Court.

On January 14, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said all civilian firearm holders have until March 19 to get biometric cards.

Matiang’i said the card fixed with a microchip will have all individual's details. He explained that the move is aimed at curbing crimes that involve use of such weapons.

He added that for the government to have a proper record of firearm holders, all police reservists will be registered.

“Police commanders must ensure that NPRs and KPRs are registered with us,” he said.