1,796 guns registered in national amnesty exercise
Six hundred and ten guns in the possession of people illegally were submitted to the Ghana Police Service (GPS) for registration during a nationwide cumulative gun amnesty exercise, the Ministry of the Interior has announced.
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Additionally, 1,186 guns, with expired registration, making them illegal, were also tendered in for renewal by their owners willingly.
In all, 1,796 guns were submitted to the GPS willingly by their owners for registration during the 32-day national exercise.
The government, on August 22, 2016, declared a 32-day amnesty to all persons in possession of illegal and unlicensed weapons to register, renew or surrender them to the state.
Press conference
At a press conference in Accra last Tuesday, the sector minister, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, said 561 pistols or revolvers and 49 shotguns were registered, while 55 pistols and 1,131 shotguns had their registrations renewed.
Mr Bani said the nationwide registration exercise was initiated by the government as part of a broader strategy to reduce the effects of uncontrolled possession of small arms and light weapons in Ghana to enhance interior safety.
He said the initiative was intended to reduce gun crime due to the proliferation of illegal small arms in the country to enhance national security.
He noted that when guns are registered, the owners become more responsible in handling them.
“ When people have registered their guns and are aware that any illegal usage of the gun can easily be traced to them and punished accordingly, they are likely to manage the ownership better,” Mr Bani explained.
“Apart from enhancing the security of citizens and foreigners living in the country, the government, through a survey, established that members of the public are willing to abide by the law that allows people 18 years and above, who meet all legal conditions, to own and use guns and, therefore, we needed to create a conducive environment for them to do so,” he added.
Conducive environment
Mr Bani said the gun amnesty was, therefore, the beginning of creating such conducive environment for people to own guns legally.
He warned that with the completion of the national exercise any individual caught with illegal ammunition would be arrested and made to face the full rigour of the law without mercy.
“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.
He, therefore, advised members of the public to follow the legally approved procedures to acquire and use guns.
Mr Bani said the exercise was successful and incident-free and commended the GPS and owners of the guns that were registered for their conduct during the exercise.
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