Kenyan content creator Naomi Kuria has raised concern over the sale of pangas and knives by hawkers along a road in Ngong, Kajiado County.
Kuria questioned why traders operating along the roadside were selling the sharp tools, saying she would rather see hawkers deal in everyday items such as sweets, snacks and air fresheners.
According to a social media report published on Wednesday, September 23, Kuria reacted after she spotted the hawkers displaying the pangas and knives along the road. She questioned the reason for the sudden presence of the items and whether there was something the public was unaware of. “Kwani what’s coming and we don’t know?” Kuria asked.
She further suggested that pangas and knives should be sold through hardware shops rather than by roadside hawkers. Her remarks, however, were her personal concern, and she did not provide evidence showing that the traders were preparing for a particular event or that an incident was imminent.
The concern comes against a legal background in which Kenyan law recognises certain bladed tools as offensive weapons in public circumstances. Section 11 of the Public Order Act defines an offensive weapon to include a panga, simi or similar weapon and provides penalties for possessing such a weapon in a street or public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, in areas and during hours covered by the applicable Gazette notice.
The law therefore distinguishes between the mere existence or sale of a tool and circumstances in which a person is carrying or possessing an offensive weapon in a public place contrary to the law. The legislation does not, by itself, establish that every panga or knife sold by a trader is illegal.
There have also been recent discussions in Kenya about regulating the sale and possession of pangas and knives. In 2023, the Kenya Internally Displaced Persons Organization called for tighter monitoring of the sale of such items, including measures to make some weapons traceable.
Meanwhile, the latest official report from Kajiado dated September 22 focused on an Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission grassroots campaign running across the county from September 21 to 25. The report did not link the programme to Kuria’s observation or identify any imminent security threat in Ngong.