The Kenya Police Reservists who were last month disarmed and withdrawn from 15 volatile counties in northern Kenya will resume duties next month.
Interior CAS Patrick Ntutu said the vetting and registration of the officers and branding and marking of their guns will be concluded by the end of the month.
Ntutu said the withdrawal of the officers was necessitated by reports that some of them engaged in criminal activities.
“Insecurity in the areas (the North Rift and North Eastern regions) is fueled by the existence of illegal firearms and misuse of government-issued firearms. [This] necessitated the withdrawal of the firearms temporarily to allow the identification of the officers and brand the firearms,” he said.
The withdrawal and disarmament of the officers sparked a storm in the regions, with political leaders accusing the government of being insensitive to the plight of residents.
They claimed this had exposed the resident to attacks by the bandits and illegal firearm holders.
Ntutu told the Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji-led committee, “During the clean-up and vetting exercise, verification of all the firearms for accountability purposes will be done. All firearms will also be branded and clearly marked.”
All KPRs will be registered biometrically and trained. "Those who will pass the vetting will be taken back to continue providing security to Kenyans," he said.
Ntutu said the government increased security patrols in the affected after the withdrawal of the KPRs. “The government has also enhanced socio-economic development in the Arid and Semi-Arid Areas through improved education, infrastructure and other support programmes.”
