Published in Monograph No 95, January 2004
Guns in the Borderlands, Reducing the Demand for Small Arms
Taya Weiss
My gratitude and appreciation go to MJ Kimani, my research partner in Nairobi. Without Kimani’s participation in conducting the fieldwork and conceptualising the results, this project would not have been feasible in such an efficient time frame. Furthermore, it would have been lacking the important perspective that comes only with years spent in places where sleeping under the bed is necessary to avoid being accidentally shot during the night. Credit also goes to MJ Kimani for his writing in the chapters covering Tana River, Garissa, Marsabit, and Isiolo.
The fieldwork, which involved visiting organizations working in some of the most remote areas of Kenya, was logistically difficult and often mentally and physically challenging. Many thanks to the Kenya National Council of Churches (NCCK), the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims, Oxfam GB-Kenya, and the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission for their partnership and support in locating grassroots groups and facilitating transport and accommodation to get to them. In particular, from the NCCK I want to thank Wesley Chebii, William Kiptoo, Willy Sabila, Rafael Lokol, and Peter Kibor. From Oxfam I want to thank Roselyn Mungai-Mwatha and Waqo Halakhe. From CJPC, James Kimisoi, Edwin Mang’eni, and Dorothee Klueppel were invaluable resources on the North Rift. Finally, Ahmed Sheikh Mohammed was an untiring guide and translator in the Northeastern Province, even offering to fight for my honour when the occasion arose on a crowded bus.
To all of the organizations that welcomed the intrusion and opened their doors and their members’ doors to the tireless questioning of this research,
I hope that the results benefit your work. The struggle for democratic
security is a difficult but important one. I wish you the best in your
continuing efforts.
