Kenyan police intensify disarmament in Kenya

Friday, August 02, 2013

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Kenyan police have intensified disarmament in northeastern region a bid to enhance security in the restive region which borders Somalia.

Regional Criminal Investigating Officer (CID) Musa Yego said the security forces have also received AK 47 riffle and ten rounds of ammunition in the ongoing disarmament process.

“The rifle and 10 rounds of ammunition we received today have been surrendered by volunteer following am amnesty issued by the government. The amnesty has not lapsed,” Yego told journalists in Garissa on Monday.

The government has deployed security forces and commissioned disarmament exercises in the affected areas, saying that conflict mitigation efforts have also been initiated at the local level.

Warring communities in northern Kenyan towns of Garissa, Mandera and Wajir which border Somalia and Ethiopia have been feuding over natural resources and political representations for years.

Analysts say the feuding pastoralist communities in Kenya’s north and southeast where clashes have been occurring have easy access to illegal weapons since the regions are close to porous borders with neighbouring countries that are either war-torn or are emerging from conflict.

The conflict over natural resources especially access and utilization of the waters of the River Tana has also been contentious for a while, leading to frequent clashes by pastoralists and farmers in the County.

In 2008 the government was forced to use the military to quell bloody clashes that claimed more than 40 people and displaced thousands of other in Mandera-East district residents.

Yego lauded the efforts by residents in Garissa, saying those who surrender the illegal weapons in their possession will not be punished or charged in any court of law.

Yego said added that the amnesty issued by the government had not lapsed, saying there was a huge number of firearms still in the hands of the residents of North Eastern saying that only police reservists in the area are supposed to handle the weapons.

The CID commander assured the residents of protection for those who step volunteer information that will help in the recovery of illegal arms.

The restive town and other towns in the region have been plagued by insecurity since late 2011 when the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) launched cross border incursion into southern Somalia in pursuit of Al-Qaida linked militants.

Majority of the businessmen who were interviewed on Wednesday expressed delight that the situation was now returning to normalcy after a lull of terror attacks.

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