32-day amnesty for unlicensed weapon owners
The government has given a 32-day amnesty to all persons in possession of illegal and unlicensed weapons to register, renew or surrender them to the state.
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The amnesty period, which begins from August 22, will end on September 23 this year, and is part of steps to enhance the management and control of the proliferation of weapons in the country.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, announced this at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said after the amnesty period expired, the Ghana Police Service, in partnership with other security agencies and the Ghana National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, would resort to aggressive measures to deal with all those who would still be in possession of unregistered weapons.
“The general public is reminded that under section 96 of the Criminal Code, 1960, as amended, the possession of illicit weapon(s) is a first degree felony offence and this carries a sentence of a minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment,” he said.
According to a research by the Ghana National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, it is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million illicit weapons in civilian hands.
Ensuring total peace
Mr Bani said the decision of the government to institute a limited weapon amnesty exercise was part of a broader strategy to reduce the effects of uncontrolled possession of small arms and light weapons in Ghana.
Apart from that, he said; “the government also wants to ensure that anything that might pose danger to the peace and safety of the citizens is eliminated.”
“Besides the significant number of yearly preventable small arms-related deaths, the illicit access to small arms has an adverse social impact. It promotes crime, hinders dispute resolution, creates mistrust among communities and undermines peace efforts at both the national and community levels,” Mr Bani said.
He, therefore, called on Ghanaians and foreign residents in the country to take advantage of the amnesty period provided by the government.
Registration of weapons
The Director of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Prosper Kwame Agblor, asked people to follow the process of obtaining any weapon.
“You must first be 18 years and above. You must not have any criminal record. You must be in position of owning one. And be able to keep it safe,” he said.
