ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the refugee threat by analysing the role they have played in the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) into the host states. It shows that the availability, possession and misuse of illicit firearms are a major threat to national and human security in Kenya and Tanzania, as the firearms are increasingly used in all major crimes in the region and, in Kenya, have even made some areas completely ungovernable. The chapter explores the various ways in which refugees contributed to the proliferation of illicit weapons by looking at their involvement in, and support for, armed resistance and their financing of arms purchases and indirectly at how refugee aid has been co-opted into the war economy. It also examines the actors that underpin refugee involvement in illicit arms trading and trafficking, especially the economic considerations and the political and military dimensions.
