Govt to destroy dormant firearms

By Charles Ariko THE Government is to destroy dormant stockpiles of firearms and ammunitions in the various armouries. The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Katumba Wamala, recently said the Army and the Police were co-ordinating to find out dormant firearms which would be destroyed with the assistance of the United States government. "An inventory of such weapons has been made and they are stored in government armouries pending a decision on their disposal," Katumba said. He was on Thursday addressing delegates at a seminar on the implementation of operational commitments by countries in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa on proliferation of firearms in the region. Katumba said the government was aware of the problems caused by the unchecked cross-border smuggling of weapons. "Illicit firearms fuel conflict, cause death and long term physical injuries to innocent victims. They also displace large sections of the civil society," he said. Meanwahile, a special department to control and monitor the use of firearms by civilians and private security organisations has been created at the Police headquarters. Katumba said they would work with the Ministry of Internal Affairs on issues of licensing, manufacturing and trading in firearms. The deputy Secretary-General of the East African Community, Dr. Kipyego Cheluget, said security and socio-economic development in the region was affected by the proliferation of small arms. He said, "there are about 100 million light weapons in Africa. Since they are small and light this aggravates their destabilising potential."