Marsabit herdsman loses 5-year jail appeal over illegal rifle

A herdsman from Marsabit who claimed he found a gun in the bush while tending his livestock will remain behind bars after the High Court upheld his five-year jail term for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Wario Golo was arrested on May 2, 2024, at Kubi Bagasa in Dirib Gombo location, Marsabit county, after detectives acting on a tip-off found him with a Simonov carbine rifle loaded with four rounds of ammunition and 13 more bullets strapped to his waist in pouches.

According to testimony by police officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Marsabit, Golo attempted to run away when officers arrived at the manyatta but was cornered and ordered to surrender. He lifted his arms, still clutching the firearm, which was found to be loaded and ready to fire.

A subsequent ballistic examination at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi confirmed the rifle, serial number 3R 4149, was a functional Russian-made Simonov carbine capable of firing 7.62mm rounds. The firearm was not linked to any previous crime in Kenya.

In his defence, Golo told the court he found the weapon abandoned in the bush and only kept it temporarily before police arrived to arrest him. He admitted, however, that he never reported the discovery to any authorities and did not possess a firearm licence.

Late last year, the magistrate’s court convicted him on two counts—being in possession of a firearm and ammunition without a certificate—sentencing him to five and two years respectively, to run concurrently.

Golo appealed at the High Court, arguing that the trial magistrate failed to consider his defence and that the sentence was harsh. But the High Court dismissed his appeal, finding that he was in actual possession of the weapon and that the sentence was lawful under Section 4 of the Firearms Act, which prescribes a minimum of seven years for such offences.

The appeal decision dated October 14, 2025 said that possession had been “convincingly proved,” noting that the herdsman’s explanation did not absolve him of the duty to immediately surrender the gun. The court only directed that his sentence should run from the date of arrest—May 2, 2024—rather than from conviction.

The case highlights the strict enforcement of Kenya’s firearms laws even in remote pastoral areas where herders occasionally come across weapons left behind after raids or conflicts.

Instant analysis

For Golo, what he says began as a curious discovery among the thorny bushes of Marsabit has turned into a five-year prison term — and a harsh reminder that possession of any firearm, however found, is a serious crime under Kenyan law.