Illicit firearms were destroyed in a public ceremony in Kenya, Nairobi, on 15 March.

Nearly 8000 guns went up in flames last week as part of the fourth national destruction of illicit small arms in Nairobi, Kenya. The public destruction ceremony was held on 15 March – exactly seven years after the Nairobi Declaration on small arms was signed in 2000. The Nairobi Declaration later led to the binding Nairobi Protocol on Small Arms, which entered into force in 2005.

The event was coordinated by the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (KNFP) and the National Steering Committee on Peace-building and Conflict Management (NSC). The public burning of firearms was to demonstrate commitment by the Kenyan Government and other stakeholders to addressing the proliferation of small arms in the country. This is part of the national action plan to reduce small arms proliferation and misuse.