According to the Firearms Licensing Board Chairman Charles Mukindia, holders need to present supporting documents for all licenses acquired as well as all fire arms and ammunition/file
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 4 – Civilian gun owners have started to undergo the vetting process by the Firearms Licensing Board at Police Pavilion in South C with some lauding the whole exercise while others say the process is slow.
Speaking to Capital FM News, some of those who presented their guns said the process is necessary as it will help in differentiating genuine gun holders from illegal ones.
“I think the process is very organized and it was really needed because I do not understand why some people have more than 5 riffles yet if it is for personal protection, you only need one,” said a gun holder on condition of anonymity.
To some who also sought anonymity, the process of vetting has been slow and tedious, as they had to cue for more than an hour waiting to be served.
“I came here at 9 am and it is 1pm now and I am still waiting to be attended to, the process is a bit slow because I guess by now only 15 people have been served and I am number 65 so you can imagine I might be here until 4pm,’’ he said.
According to the Firearms Licensing Board Chairman Charles Mukindia, holders need to present supporting documents for all licenses acquired as well as all fire arms and ammunition.
Upon verification, the holders shall proceed for ballistic analysis at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
“They are supposed to appear with all their supporting documents for the licenses acquired, all firearms and ammunition and the holders need to book online through www.firearms.or.ke,” said Mukindia, adding that other regions would be informed of the date of their vetting.
He explained that the ballistic analysis test will cost Sh2,000 while the new smart card will cost Sh5,000. .
The process is mandatory for all the licensed gun holders but those exempted from the vetting and not required to book include serving and retired personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces, National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Intelligence Service, Kenya Forest Service and the security sector.
However, they will be required to fill in a form and obtain a unique identification number from the vetting venue and then go to DCI for ballistic test.
The process which kicked off on Monday, will go on until March 17.
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