Entebbe.
As
the country mourns the gruesome killing of Assistant Inspector General
of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi, his drivers and bodyguard, latest
shooting statistics reveal what Internal Affairs minister has called “a
dangerous trend”, with nearly 500 people shot dead in the last three
years.
The data released by Gen Jeje Odongo during an
awareness workshop on the proposed Small Arms and Light Weapons Control
Bill in Entebbe on Friday indicate that 503 people were killed between
2014 and 2016, while another 1,477 survived with serious gunshot wounds.
The killings were as a result of shooting involving legal and illegal
guns in circulation.
Shot dead
Gen Odongo told MPs on Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, who are currently scrutinising the Bill and other invited stakeholders, that in 2014, at least 181 people were shot dead, and another 151 people killed in 2015, while more 171 people were again shot dead last year. He called the development “a dangerous trend that should be addressed.”
Gen Odongo told MPs on Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, who are currently scrutinising the Bill and other invited stakeholders, that in 2014, at least 181 people were shot dead, and another 151 people killed in 2015, while more 171 people were again shot dead last year. He called the development “a dangerous trend that should be addressed.”
“According
to the Uganda Police crime statistics, homicide cases, through use of
firearms, have been registered in various parts of the country, with
statistics showing a dangerous trend that should be addressed,” Gen
Odongo said.
Quoting statistics from the United Nations
Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), Gen Odongo said there are an
estimated 875 million illicit arms in circulation at the global level
and about 740,000 people killed by perpetrators using the illicit arms
annually.
Illegal guns not known
For Uganda, the minister admitted that the government lacks the data to estimate accurately the number of illegally held guns that have been used in illegal operations. He said only 6,000 of the civilian-owned guns are registered in the country, while more 16,783 guns are held by private security organisations.
For Uganda, the minister admitted that the government lacks the data to estimate accurately the number of illegally held guns that have been used in illegal operations. He said only 6,000 of the civilian-owned guns are registered in the country, while more 16,783 guns are held by private security organisations.
There are security
concerns that as a result of the country’s porous borders and widespread
corruption, criminals at times smuggle illegal guns into the country,
particularly from the volatile neighbouring countries such as the DR
Congo and South Sudan.
When contacted yesterday, police
spokesperson Asan Kasingye admitted there is a problem, saying:
“Illegal guns are linked to transnational and cross-border crimes. The
law alone is not the solution to the problem. You can have beautiful
laws but they will not deter gun violence in the country. We must focus
on community policing and ensure that we stabilise the region to stop
the proliferation of illegal firearms in the region.”
He added: “Some of the people who are carrying guns are indisciplined and they are giving guns to wrong elements. This must be sorted out and we are going to deal with this problem….You go to bars, discos, massage parlours in town and churches and all sorts of places and you see security guards collecting guns. Others are simply showing off with pistols yet these guns are given for specific purposes; particularly when one is under threat but not for show off”.
He added: “Some of the people who are carrying guns are indisciplined and they are giving guns to wrong elements. This must be sorted out and we are going to deal with this problem….You go to bars, discos, massage parlours in town and churches and all sorts of places and you see security guards collecting guns. Others are simply showing off with pistols yet these guns are given for specific purposes; particularly when one is under threat but not for show off”.
Ms Almaz Gebru, the UNDP
country director, said dealing with the widespread availability of SALW
has become a priority for many states such as Uganda, which has been
severely affected by SALW with some regions like Karamoja sitting in
what she termed as the “Gun Corridor”.
The law
Although
the government and the MPs led by their chairperson, Ms Judith
Nabakooba (NRM, Mityana Woman) have insisted that the consideration of
the Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Bill was not motivated by the
killing of AIGP Kaweesi and two police officers but a coincidence, the
object of the Bill is to stop what Opposition leaders have called,
“unexplained gun deaths” in the country. In the proposed law, the
government has set out to repeal the 1970 Small Arms and Light Weapons
(SALW) Control law and introduce a new law that spells out harsh
penalties for people misusing firearms.
“The current
legal regime on small arms and light weapons control is largely
ineffective and does not conform to the required legal framework…..We
need urgent and serious interventions to control the abuse of firearms,
including strengthening legal and institutional mechanisms for the
management and control of SALW,” Gen Odongo said.
The
minister also explained that although the proposed amendments seek to
repeal the present Firearms Act 1970 Cap. 299, many good provisions of
the parent law on the control of firearms have been considered in the
proposed legislation and even strengthened or harmonised with other
recommendations. The minister didn’t disclose the details.
The
UPDF representative in the 10th Parliament, Col Felix Kulayigye,
however, blamed the smuggling of illegal guns into the country on the
conflicts in the neighbouring states and sought to absolve the security
agencies of any wrongdoing even as some shooting incidents involved the
men and women in uniforms.
The process of reviewing and
developing legislation on SALW control started in 2003. At the time,
the National Security Council mandated the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
to develop and make proposals for review of legislation on small arms
and light weapons in line with the recommendations of the national
mapping exercise on SALW and the Nairobi Protocol Best Practice
Guidelines on harmonisation and review of legislation in the Great Lakes
region and the Horn of Africa.
Mr Anthony Nakhaima,
the head of the legal drafting team, said the proposed law seeks to
enable proper control, regulation and management of SALW, establish
management structures, provide for a centralised registration and
licensing of small arms. The Bill also seeks to regulate the
manufacture, transfer, transit, export and import of SALW and
ammunitions, and also takes care of the UN Arms Trade Treaty, which
entered into force on December 24 2014.
When passed,
the law will, among other things, require one to have a licence to
transit a gun, register the guns as is required by international
standards, allow brokering of guns between the manufacturer to the
buyer, placing of a committee in place to oversee gun regulations,
people to first get licence, trained and examined to ensure they are fit
to hold firearm, blocking anyone with a history of domestic violence to
get a gun licence, destroying of unlabelled guns, and co-ownership of a
gun between partners, which were not the case in the 1970 Act.
Muhoozi speaks out
In
a related development, the senior presidential advisor on Special
Operations, Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has regretted the recent
killings that left the country in shock, and echoed his father’s call
for installation of CCTV cameras in major towns. He asked security
forces to be on top of the situation in the fight against criminal like
they did in the fight against Joseph Kony, ADF and the al-Shabaab.
Gen
Muhoozi, also the former commander of the Special Forces Command that
guards the President and key installations in the country, was speaking
to the press on the sidelines of the function for donation of mattresses
to the army health facility at the 2nd Division Headquarters in Mbarara
on Thursday.
On the President’s directive on CCTV
camera, Gen Muhoozi said: “Most big cities in the world have CCTV
cameras and they help in fighting crime. If we acquire them, it would be
another asset for fighting against crime and criminal behaviour.’’
Before he spoke to hospital staff and army officers, Gen Muhoozi asked
the congregation to stand and observe a moment of silence in honour of
AIGP Felix Kaweesi, who was shot dead in Kampala on March 17.
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