By Daniel Edyegu

ALL guns in the hands of security agencies will be marked in a bid to check the proliferation of illegal arms. The marks will include the logos of the country, the manufacturer and the emblem of the security agency to which the weapon belongs, Nickson Olwa, the operations and research officer of the national focal point (NFP) on small arms and light weapons, said.

“This will ease monitoring of the movement of arms. Even if they are trafficked to another country, they can be traced back. The exercise has already begun and over 4,000 UPDF guns have been marked,” Olwa said.

He made the revelation on Saturday while addressing Pallisa district leaders, at Kyoga Hotel. The consultative security meeting was convened to seek measures to curb the rise of illegal arms and armed crime.

The NFP is charged with the prevention of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Olwa added that the review process for the 1970 firearms act was underway and its amendment would limit acquisition and ownership of firearms.

Abbey Kisubi, a security officer, noted that the illegal arms in circulation were undermining economic progress and promoting terrorism. Peter Wafana, the Pallisa district Police commander, stressed that the poor training of private security guards had also escalated crime.

Pallisa deputy chairman Christopher Onono appealed to the Government to conduct public awareness campaigns on the use of the gun to boost security.