Government Orders ODM MP Simba Arati to Surrender His Firearms

Government has revoked Dagoretti North Member of Parliament Simba Arati's firearms license. In a gazette notice dated January 30th, the Firearms Licensing Board ordered the MP to surrender his firearms, saying that he is no longer fit to be entrusted with guns.

The agency has given the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MP until Thursday, February 1st to surrender two firearms allocated to him, which include a Glock pistol and a shotgun.

“In accordance with the Provisions of the Firearms Act Cap 114 Laws of Kenya your Firearm Certificate No. 10242 issued to you on 12 November 2015 is with effect from the date of this notice, revoked as the Firearms Licensing Board is satisfied that the revocation is warranted under section 3(5) (b) and section 5(7) of the above mentioned Act for reasons that you are unfit to be entrusted with a firearm anymore,” read the notice issued by the board’s Secretary Samuel Kimaru.

The revocation comes as the government continues a crackdown on National Super Alliance (Nasa) leaders and other individuals believed to have been behind the ‘swearing in’ of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

On Tuesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i declared Nasa's National Resistance Movement (NRM) as an organized criminal group created to incite Kenyans against a democratically elected government.

Arati is one of the members of National Resistance Movement.