MKINGA District Commissioner, Colonel Maulid Hassan Sarumbu has called on illegal owners of firearms to surrender them to nearby police stations in two- month time and will face no trouble.
He made the call here during the launch of the Africa Amnesty Month, which is part of the African Union’s (AU) Silencing the Guns initiative. It is being carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament (UNODA).
In 2017, AU declared September to be ‘Africa, Amnesty Month’ in order to garner widespread support for efforts to combat the smuggling of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and to advance the AU’s ‘Silence the Guns in Africa by 2030’.
Speaking on behalf of the Tanga Regional Commissioner, Omari Mgumba, Col Sarumbu said the initiative has come at the right time for African countries.
“This is a time when all countries are talking about economic development. This cannot be achieved if guns continue to spread uncontrollably within communities,” Col Sarumbu said.
He urged those who illegally possess firearms to take advantage of the grace period and surrender all illegally possessed firearms, so that people can live and conduct their economic activities 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 their firearms.
“It is pointless to own a firearm but be unable to use it when faced with a threat,” she said.
She also urged gun owners who find they cannot continue to own 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, 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 for Tanzania due to geographical reasons.
She expressed gratitude to the UNODA and the AU for making the activity possible, noting that three regions, Tanga, Tabora, and Morogoro, are implementing the amnesty campaign as pilot regions. She stated that the government intends 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 one of the others.
“Tanzania is surrounded by countries that have been or are embroiled in armed conflicts, resulting in the infiltration of illicit firearms by refugees.”
