For Security's Sake, Relax Gun Control

The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
January 5, 2004
Posted to the web January 5, 2004

By Henry K. Mwitari
Nairobi
The first case of illicit firearms possession was reported in Turkana District
in 1928. Demand was driven by the need by communities in this district to
defend themselves against Sudanese raiders targeting their animals.
Since then, pastoralists have always armed themselves with unlicensed firearms,
which are used as defensive as well as offensive weapons.
Despite sustained and expensive Government efforts to eradicate illegal
ownership of these lethal machines, little success has been achieved 70 years
later. Why? Because successive governments have failed to protect these
pastoralists and their property.
The use of firearms by urban criminals is as old as our independence but was
limited to a few hands, mainly because guns were expensive and scarce. Today,
they have become cheap and readily available.
Firearms are no longer the preserve of a few hard-core criminals. Today, youths
are turning to crime purely because of the ease with which they can acquire
guns. Urban centres have become fertile hunting grounds because the security-
ignorant Kenyans provide soft targets.
The business community have not been spared either. These firearms have fallen
into the hands of professional hit squads hired to eliminate rivals.
The use of hard drugs further complicates the already bad situation. Cases of
violent robberies continue to be reported, and there seems to be no end in
sight. Something drastic must be done to get us out of this quagmire.
This is because the toll in human life and the devastation wrought by firearms
only add salt to wounds of poverty. After all, most victims of illicit firearms
are usually the most productive members of society.
There are two options, in my view, to get ourselves out of the quandary. The
first one is to carry out a countrywide "sweep" by cordoning and searching
everywhere there is human activity. But this, of course, is impracticable.
The second is easy, but it always draws mixed reactions - the liberalisation of
firearm ownership.
Kenyans are good debaters. Very good reasons will be given for and against the
relaxation of restrictions on licensing firearms. Those who advocate this
solution would carry the day. Unfortunately, they don't fall in the category
which influences policy decisions save for Minister Martha Karua (after her
infamous carjacking), and a few other highly-placed Kenyans.
Intellectual discourse will not help either. When you go about saving a life,
you tend to ignore the side-effects of the treatment given especially when
choice is limited. We are limited in choice. The only way out, in my view, is
relaxing the rules on acquisition of firearms.
We must distinguish between those who have chosen the line of crime and the
law-abiding. The victims suffer double prejudice because they cannot use
firearms to defend themselves, while the criminal can flout the law to break
another law.
This is why the law needs changing. The advantages of arming the public far
outweigh the disadvantages. Following are the disadvantages:
Firearms are used in isolated suicide cases, and sometimes on the domestic
front when a man shoots his wife and vice-versa.
Should guns be licensed, there will be less need to hire security guards,
resulting in a drop in the number of security firms.
The number of accidental shootings will increase, while there will, of course,
be a loss in earning for those engaging in campaigns against the use of small
arms.
And here are the advantages;
Licensing firearms will deal death-blow to the illicit firearms business.
Using firearms to commit crime will become almost impossible. These days, armed
robberies take place in full public view.
There will be a big saving for the Exchequer relieved of the enormous cost of
fighting armed crime.
There will be a reduced toll in human life, and fewer incidents of violent
dispossession of property.
As a result, economic production will rise, and there will be greater freedom
of movement.
Overall, a new lease of life will have been injected into the souls of long-
suffering Kenyans.
This is the best New Year gift Kenyans can receive from the President. As the
saying foes, "You can stop a whole army, but not an idea whose time has come".
The time for this idea is, indeed, here.
Retired Major Mwitari is an analyst on security issues.

   

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