Setting up a National police firearms digital detection and tracking system will aid in easier recovery of lost guns as well as those that fall into the wrong hands, a petition before lawmakers says.
Mr Emmanuel Kelly Ojoo has told Parliament of an increase in security incidents where police posts and stations have been attacked, and firearms stolen by civilians.
In addition, the petitioner also noted that some police officers, while in line of duty, have also been ambushed and their firearms forcefully taken by unknown people who end up using them to commit crimes.
According to the petitioner, the two scenarios expose vulnerabilities in current firearms storage, monitoring, and rapid response systems.
Parliament buildings in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
The Petitioner contends that the theft or unauthorised removal of police firearms places police officers at heightened operational risk, endangers civilians and undermines public confidence in national security institutions.
“Firearm issuance and armoury management systems in many police stations remain largely manual and lack immediate electronic detection mechanisms, capable of flagging unauthorised removal or tampering in real time,” reads the petition.
Mr Ojoo points out that currently, there is no mandatory nationwide encrypted and automated alert system that instantly notifies command structures upon irregular firearm movement, thereby delaying rapid response and recovery efforts.
In the new system, if parliament approves the petition, there will be an instant alert anytime a firearm is lost either by a police officer or at a police station. An alert will then be sent to all security chiefs where the firearm has been lost for proper coordination on the recovery process.
The new digital firearm and tracking system will be domiciled and managed by the National Police Service (NPS)
To achieve this, the petitioner wants the National Assembly to consider amending the National Police Service Act, the Firearms Act and related legislation to establish a secure national digital firearms detection and tracking system within the National Police Service.
The amendment, according to the petitioner, should include biometric controlled smart armouries, encrypted real time tracking and alert mechanisms, safeguards for operational confidentiality, dedicated budgetary support and security protections to ensure officers are not unfairly held liable for systemic technological failures.
Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie. File | Nation
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie, the country must move with technology, hence the petition should be urgently considered by the House.
“It is a new world which requires us to make use of the available technology, even in public policing and security. We must, therefore, thank the Petitioner,” Mr Kiarie said.
Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba pointed out that the petition, if adopted, will expand the space of security, especially on the issue of firearm movement.
Mr Milemba said the petition will not only address missing firearms questions but also incidents where police officers hire their guns out to criminals.
“There are situations where police officers illegally hire out firearms for criminal activities, something that has been raised on several occasions. This will go a long way in ensuring that firearms remain in the hands of the correct persons and can be tracked any time,” Mr Milemba said
The lawmaker said organisations that have adopted the tracking systems of their activities have recorded tremendous growth in their operations.
“I was at Kenyatta National Hospital and I noticed that they have digitised everything. They can track financial transactions, movement of patients and every other operation. This is an area where the Ministry of Interior and National Administration can leverage technology to ensure that we can track the movement of firearms and even ammunition. That will save us a great deal of trouble,” Mr Milemba said
The petition will be jointly handled by three committees- the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs and the Public Petitions Committee.
Speaker of the National Assembly urged the three committees to urgently look at the issues raised in the petition and come up with legislative proposals to the House.
“The committees to look at it and see how they can engineer some legislation. It makes a lot of sense,” Mr Wetang’ula said.
The three committees have 60 days where they will meet various stakeholders and report back to the House on their consideration of the petition.
