Group urges State to allow more civilians own guns

Inayat Kassam (left) evacuating victims of terror attack at Dusit D2 hotel in Nairobi on 15th January 2019. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard].

 

Tuesday’s terror attack, like many other previous ones and the eerily similar Westgate Mall attack, has revived another subtle debate on gun ownership.

CCTV footage of the attack shows how the unfortunate events unfolded. One group of the militants entered a nearby office building, where they left a grenade in the lobby before shooting into elevators and offices as they searched for victims up to the sixth floor.

The other group raked a restaurant with gunfire soon after a suicide bomber had blown himself up. Eventually the militants holed up on or near the top floor of the hotel, taking potshots at those fleeing and first responders.

From the footage, one can see moments of hesitation from the terrorists. In one instance, three of them run towards the restaurant before congregating for a few crucial seconds before going their separate ways.

It is here that some argue, a few guns in the hands of civilians might have made a difference and perhaps drastically cut the death toll. “More guns in the right hands would have helped because this would have delayed their plans,” Anthony Wahome, the chair of the National Gun Owners Association of Kenya (NGAO) says. “The idea is to disrupt whatever plans they had and in situations such as those even one second can make a difference.”

NGAO-Kenya, describes itself as a registered independent, non-profit and non-political association of law-abiding licensed firearm holders in Kenya. Our primary purpose is to promote legal and responsible use of firearms.

Its mandate involves offering members frequent training on safe firearms handling, lessons that serve as a core element of preserving public safety. “We thus provide quality training for licensed firearm holders in the proper use, handling and safe storage of firearms. We also seek to promote shooting as a sport in the country as we believe Kenya has the necessary abilities to compete in the Olympics, Commonwealth and other such sporting events,” a statement on its website reads.

On Tuesday, news of the attack quickly spread on the association’s WhatsApp group. Some of the first responders to the scene were its members.