Kenya launches Action Plan to reduce gun violence
John Michuki, Minister of Provincial Administration and Internal Security
was guest of honour at the launch.
Kenya officially launched its National Action Plan for Arms Control and Management on 13 July 2006.
Click here to download the complete report of the National Action Plan (Warning: 3MB file)
Some 2 million Kenyans have access to guns, according to the baseline assessment that accompanied the plan. The assessment will be used to measure the success of the government's efforts to improve small arms control.
According to the assessment, people in the Eastern and Northeastern provinces possess the highest proportion of firearms. In these provinces, arms availability is linked to cattle rustling, proximity to the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia, and actual or perceived inability of the government to protect citizens. These provinces also experience the highest demand for small arms: some 26% of people in these provinces would choose to own a gun, compared to a national average of 18%.
Among the reasons for high demand for guns identified in the assessment were lack of police capacity and effectiveness (41% of respondents had a poor opinion of the police) and poverty. The 23 objectives of the five-year action plan cover:
- establishing the institutional framework to implement the action plan
- by 2007, review all legislation relating to possession, (state and private), use, importation, exportation, dealing, brokering, transit, storage, stockpiling, manufacture, marking, record-keeping, collection, seizure, confiscation, destruction and disposal.
- stocktaking of all small arms in the country, ensuring adequate stockpile security and destruction of surplus stock
- awareness raising projects, including elements in school curricula
- demand-reduction initiatives including community policing and integration of small arms control into existing development plans
- improve cross-border cooperation to reduce arms trafficking
- develop programs to address armed violence in refugee camps
- training and capacity building of police
- action-oriented research
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