The citizens of Kenya need a right to arm and protect themselves
April 16, 2008
Written by kenyanobserver, in COMMENTARY
It used to be that you had to be a public figure or a “very important person” in Kenya before you could even muster the guts to walk up to the government and apply for a gun permit.Security in Kenya today has dwindled to gang-style, bribe-ridden, lowly paid, politics-infested police force that is hit and miss and cannot be relied upon to guarantee security to the average person.Politicians, senior police and military personnel, well connected wanainchi and some businessmen and businesswomen have known this for a long time and take matters into their own hands by arming themselves and their security detail.Ironically, thugs these days are better armed than policemen and seem to have free rein in the country. It is my opinion that every responsible kenyan needs a right to bear arms to protect themselves.What we have witnessed in the last few days has reinforced what kenyans have talked about privately for a long time – let every responsible citizen have a chance to own a firearm for their own safety.Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world and yet ranks among the lowest in crime. Why can’t Kenya do the same?It is not very comforting when the Permanent Secretary of Internal Security openly admits that they were outwitted by Mungiki in the riots that have gripped parts of the country in the last few days.Times have changed. Crime is much more violent today than it was a few years ago. Almost every person intent on committing crime today will be armed with a firearm. If the elite feel the need to protect themselves with firearms because they cannot completely rely on security provided by the government, let the ordinary citizen have an opportunity to do the same because every kenyan life is just as precious.I came across this very interesting article comparing gun ownership in the US and Switzerland – guncite.I think we can learn a lot from the European model of gun ownership NOT the US model. Europeans have much stricter gun control laws and the difference shows in the statistics.
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Arming people isnt the solution. If that were the case, then the US would be crime-free. Improving the capacity of the police to deal with crime is far cheaper. The problem with Kenya Police is that they have relied too much on confessions rather than detective work hence criminals end up getting acquitted every other week.
nairobichronicle, I agree with your point about improving the capacity (and quality) of the police. However, I think the US model is the worst model to cite as an example and I mentioned that in my article.I think it is more instructive to look at European countries for leadership on this issue and then perhaps coming out with a custom solution that works for Kenya which takes all the “lessons learned” from the various european countries into account.