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Murkomen mulls arming chiefs with guns
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen speaks with Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha at the County Commissioner's Office and Headquarters in Mokowe, Lamu West, on April 10, 2025.
Chiefs and assistant chiefs working in security volatile areas in Kenya could soon be given firearms.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen says he does not see any reason to deny chiefs the right to hold guns, especially when it is proved beyond doubt that their lives are at risk in their areas of jurisdiction.
Risky areas include those that continue to witness pastoralist unrest, border areas such as Boni Forest, and parts of North Eastern where al-Shabaab has been a threat. Mr Murkomen said the government will ensure local administrators operating in such places are equipped with rifles.
Mr Murkomen chiefs should not be barred from having guns when even some civilians, who have been vetted and licensed, hold guns.
“I don’t see any problem in having our chiefs armed. If civilians can apply and get licences to be gun holders, why not the chiefs? We shall facilitate a procedure where the chiefs will be assessed and if they’re proved that their lives are at risk in their areas of operation, we shall provide them with guns and the permit or licences immediately,” he said.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen in Lamu on April 10, 2025.
The CS was speaking on Thursday at Mokowe in Lamu County during the Jukwaa La Usalama, Pwani Edition.
He said arming local administrators will improve their safety and that of locals.
Mr Murkomen was responding to a request by Ms Ruhia Shee, the chairperson of the Lamu County National Chiefs Welfare Forum. In her address, Ms Shee had cited challenges that her colleagues, particularly those working in terror-prone Boni Forest, have continued to encounter in the course of duty.
“We want our welfare to be taken care of, including the issue of uniforms. We don’t want to continue wearing old, ragged uniforms. We also have fellow chiefs in Basuba and Boni Forest as a whole. The chiefs here are facing it hard security wise. Let them be armed to enable us to at least defend ourselves in the event of coming in contact with the militants,” she said.
Boni Forest villages such as Pandanguo, Jima, Bodhei-Junction, Mangai, Basuba, Milimani, Mararani and Kiangwe have for the past decade witnessed insecurity caused by al-Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia.
Despite the area being under tight security surveillance owing to the ongoing multi-agency security Operation Amani Boni (OAB), al-Shabaab militants have staged attacks.
On March 15, 2025 when a group of about 150 heavily armed terrorists raided Mangai Village at around 6.30pm.
During the incident, the militants gathered residents in one place, preached radicalised teachings, distributed date fruits as a 'Ramadhan gift' and vanished into the dense Boni Forest.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen greets a resident in Lamu on April 10, 2025.
On April 5, over 200 heavily armed al-Shabaab militants tried to sneak into the Basuba General Service Unit (GSU) camp at around 10.45pm but were repulsed by the officers.
They also attempted to raid Basuba Village but received great resistance from the National Police Reservists (NPR) manning the area. An exchange of fire ensued before the militants were overpowered and they escaped into the nearby Boni Forest. No casualty was reported during the incident.
Locals praised the call and said chiefs should also receive paramilitary training.
“The government should go ahead and implement the plan of providing guns to chiefs. It’s a brilliant idea provided they offer them paramilitary training. This will enable our chiefs to get equipped with the knowledge to at least handle and operate those firearms,” said Mohamed Ali, a resident of Mokowe.
Former Kiunga Location Senior Chief Mohamed Atik said the idea was good but stressed the need for the local administrators to be trained on how best to handle the firearms so that they do not harm themselves, their families or people around them.
“That is a very good idea. You know having a firearm is power and even police officers are powerful because they have firearms. But at the same time, there's a need for proper training for our chiefs. They should even be taught on how they can surrender them to the armoury and take them only during times they’re headed for operations,” he said.
Maryam Alwy, a resident, said some chiefs are too scared to respond to emergencies because they are not armed.
Lamu East MP Ruweida Obbo supported the idea to give guns to chiefs, especially those working in Boni Forest.
“Chiefs and almost every public servant in those areas are suffering. You can imagine having the many threats of al-Shabaab, yet you aren’t being armed as an administrator. Let the plan be implemented as soon as possible,” she said.
Last month, chiefs in terror-prone Boni Forest urged the government to provide them with firearms. They also requested bodyguards from the Special Forces (SOG), claiming their lives were at risk as they have are a key target of the al-Shabaab.