By Barbara Among

A total of 200 tonnes of small arms, bombs and ammunition were on Tuesday destroyed as part of the activities to mark the global week of action on gun violence.

The destruction took place at the Nakasongola military base. The arms destroyed were those acquired by past governments.

The activity was coordinated by the National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the internal affairs ministry, the UPDF, the Police, the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light weapons and the United Nations Development Programme.

The Masindi-based field artillery division commander, Brig. Fred Mugisha, said small arms were a big challenge.

“These explosives and small arms present a greater danger than the nuclear weapons,” he said.

Mugisha note that over 5,000 tonnes of ammunition and unexploded bombs need to be destroyed.

He said the problem is worsened by persistent insecurity in the Great Lakes region and Uganda’s porous borders, which allow arms from neighbouring countries into the country.

Mugisah pledged the army’s commitment to reducing the dangers paused by small arms.

A top official from the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Francis Sang, noted that the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons is a direct threat to the security, political stability and economic development of the region.

He said weapons reduction programmes are important because they remove tools of violence from the society.

The Uganda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons coordinator, Ahmed Wafuba, urged Ugandans to cooperate with the Government in the fight against illicit weapons.

Wafuba said the Government was in the process of implementing the national action plan on small arms eradication.

Last October, the Government destroyed 800 tonnes of explosives.