By Abubaker Mukose

A TOTAL of 57,000 guns were on Saturday burnt at the Steel Rolling Mills in Jinja. The firearms, ferried to the factory on two trailer trucks amid tight security, were fed into the huge boiler-furnace and smelted.

Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said the firearms were part of the stock of unserviceable weapons accumulated since colonial times.

Col. Eric Mukasa, the UPDF Inspector General for Military Equipment, headed the exercise.

UNDP expert on small arms demolition Ian Ruddlock and Sarel Buijs, the programme officer for the Pretoria-based Safe Africa, responsible for small arms and light weapon management in Africa, oversaw the exercise.