Surrender illegally owned guns, citizens directed

Tanga. Tanga Region residents in illegal possession of unregistered firearms, including locally made types or those inherited from parents, have been directed to surrender them voluntarily in order to beat government’s two-month grace period under the Africa Amnesty month.

The amnesty is part of the African Union’s (AU) Silencing the Guns initiative, which is being carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament (Unoda).

In 2017, the African Union (AU) declared September to be “Africa, Amnesty Month” in order to garner widespread support for efforts to combat the smuggling of SALW and to advance the AU’s “Silence the Guns in Africa” by 2030.

Mkinga District Commissioner Colonel Maulid Hassan Sarumbu, who was speaking on behalf of the Tanga Regional Commissioner, said yesterday that the amnesty had come at the right time for Tanzanians.

“This is not the time for guns. It is time for all countries to focus on economic development, which cannot be achieved if guns continue to spread uncontrollably within communities,” Col Sarumbu said.

He urged those in illegal possession of firearms to take advantage of the grace period and surrender the guns so that people would live in peace.

Earlier, Tanga Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Safia Jongo, stated that the region was at the forefront of working to ensure that illegally held firearms by individuals were surrendered to the Police. Between January and June of this year, the Police confiscated 62 illegal firearms, according to her.

“Over 150 illicit firearms were recovered from individuals last year,” the Regional Police Chief said. ACP Jongo also announced a special programme organised by the Police for gun owners to participate in exercises aimed at teaching them how to use the firearms.

“It is pointless to own a firearm but be unable to effectively use it when faced with a threat,” she said.

She also urged gun owners who find they cannot continue to owning firearms for a variety of reasons, including age and health, to turn them in to the police.

Previously, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Renalda Milanzi, who is the Head of the Police Force’s Firearms Control and Licensing Unit, stated that the government decided to extend the amnesty from one to two months due to geographical reasons.

She expressed her gratitude to the Unoda and the AU for making the activity possible, noting that three regions of Tanga, Tabora, and Morogoro, were implementing the amnesty campaign as pilot regions.

She stated that the government intended to destroy all illegal firearms seized in November of this year.

Tanzania is one of three African countries implementing the Silencing the Gun initiative.

Liberia is also one of those countries.

“Tanzania is surrounded by countries that have been or are embroiled in armed conflicts, resulting in the infiltration of illicit firearms by refugees.”