African Union lauds Uganda on firearms control

The African Union (AU) has lauded Uganda’s efforts in controlling illegal firearms and outstanding progress in promoting amnesty.

The commendation follows the AU commemorating the Africa Amnesty Month 2025 in Uganda under the theme: Safer Communities through Voluntary Disarmament on October 2-3, 2025.

Speaking during the 9th Africa Amnesty Month Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala city, Alfred Tebelelo Boang, the permanent representative of the of Botswana and chairperson of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU for October, cited Uganda's enduring commitment to voluntary disarmament, community awareness-raising and regulatory measures, which highlights the essential role of national leadership in advancing amnesty and control of illegal firearms.

“By hosting this year's event, Uganda has reaffirmed its dedication to promoting disarmament and fostering peace within its most affected communities. The pervasive spread and circulation of illicit small arms and light weapons remain significant contributors to armed conflict, organised crime, and communal violence throughout Africa,” he said.

As part of the commemorations, Uganda announced the destruction of about 30,000 illegal firearms captured from rebels, cattle rustlers and other bandits. They were destroyed at Gaddafi Barracks in Jinja city.

The symbolic destruction of illicit weapons during the commemoration, he said served as a powerful testament to the collective commitment to eliminating instruments of violence and instability from the communities.

 “This act serves as a clear message to all Africans that the future of our continent lies not in the barrel of a gun, but rather in the principles of peace, unity, and sustainable development,” he said.

 Africa Amnesty Month is an initiative of the AU aimed at encouraging the voluntary surrender of illegally owned weapons to promote peace and security across the continent.

The initiative was adopted by the AU Assembly in its Decision 645 in 2017, which designated September as Africa Amnesty Month.

 The Assembly in 2020 extended the commemoration until 2030, reflecting the continued agency and importance of the initiative.

 According to the internal affairs ministry, the weapons were captured from the rebels of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the West Nile Bank Front, Karamojong warriors and other bandits.

Over 16,400 of the guns, the ministry indicated, were surrendered voluntarily, while those discovered through forceful means were about 15,400.

Various initiatives

Internal affairs minister Kahinde Otaffire said all the weapons got into Uganda from abroad and that they were recovered through various initiatives.

“We got these arms through voluntary surrender programmes, disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, community awareness campaigns on the dangers of illicit firearms, as well as the establishment of legal frameworks and policies aimed at regulating civilian possession and use of firearms,” Otaffire said.

He added that the concept of disarmament of illegal firearms and amnesty programmes has a long history in Uganda, right from the early 1990s to date.

“When our government came to power in 1986, we started restoring peace and security through disarming the various armed rebel groups, followed by the armed warriors in the Karamoja,” Otaffire said.

According to the minister, Uganda has also played a very significant role in promoting peace and security across the African continent by contributing troops to the United Nations and other AU peace support operations.

“Uganda's contribution to peace and support operations stems from an African ideology in which the country continues to support other African countries in the quest for peace and stability on the continent,” he said.

The Karimojong-Turkana question

First Deputy Prime Minister and minister of East African Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, officiating at the conference, disclosed that Uganda and Kenya were in discussions on how to effectively deal with the Karimojong-Turkana question, which is contributing to a lot of illegal guns in the region.

A cross-section of delegates during the commemoration of the Africa Amnesty month at Speke Resort Munyonyo on 2nd October 2025. (Credit: Juliet Kasirye)

“We are in the process of concluding an agreement between Kenya and Uganda relating to the relationship between the Turkana and the Karamojong. Both of these tribes have a lot of guns, but we are working together so that we can have peace on our borders,” she said.

The destruction of the weapons, according to Kadaga, was an act of commitment to eliminate illicit firearms in the country.

2030 target

AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security Bankole Adeoye, in his speech, challenged member states to do their best to ensure that, by 2030, Africa will stand tall, strong, and free from illicit small arms and light weapons.

“In 2019, the African Union Commission undertook a mapping exercise on illicit small arms and light weapons. It noted that, globally, an estimated 85% of small arms and light weapons are thought to be in civilian hands,” Adeoye said.

Adeoye added that in Africa, civilians own over 40 million small arms, and yet only 5.8 million of the owners are licensed.

This, according to Adeoye, was in contrast to less than 11 million firearms owned by the armed forces and law enforcement agencies combined.

“Removing these weapons from circulation and use is, therefore, central to realising peace, security, stability, and development on the continent,” he said.

He celebrated that Uganda's history has been shaped by extraordinary resilience with vast experience in the field of amnesty, including its amnesty framework anchored in the Amnesty Act of 200.

“The African Amnesty map adopts a similar approach where governments are encouraged to provide amnesty to civilians who surrender illicit small arms and light weapons without fear of arrest or prosecution,” Adeoye said.

Contribution to peace

Jean Pierre Betindji, the executive secretary of the Regional Centre for Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA) said in 15 African countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, Nigeria, Liberia, Togo, Tanzania, Djibouti and Rwanda, citizens have stepped forward to contribute directly to peace.

“Visualise the weight lifted from communities as over 22,000 illicit firearms have been collected and destroyed across these countries. These are not only statistics. They represent lives saved, families reunited, and futures reclaimed from the shadow of violence,” he said.

John Robert Akiiki Adupa, the LC3 chairperson of Lotisan sub-county in Moroto district and a former cattle rustler, said he abandoned crime after he narrowly survived a bullet from the security forces.

“Actually, because God was still loving me, I decided to say, this is a warning and wants me to leave the practice. This is not the right activity for me to do. So, I decided to quit,” Adupa said.

According to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the partnership with the AU has supported 16 African countries in organising technical and awareness-raising activities to commemorate Africa's Amnesty Month.

“Together, we have facilitated the collection and extraction of more than 22,000 illicit weapons. Through targeted technical and financial assistance, the project has strengthened national capacities for weapons collection and extraction, enhanced the skills of law enforcement officials and promoted wide-reaching public awareness campaigns,” a representative of Izumi Nakamitsu, the under-secretary-general and high representative of UNODA said.