The Lower Chamber of Parliament has passed a Bill that criminalizes the illegal possession of firearms. The Bill determines ways of acquisition, possession, carriage, manufacturing, selling, storage and obtaining all types of ammunitions and their accessories. Any person who exposes, lends, gives away or loses a firearm will serve a sentence of one year in prison and a fine of Frw100,000 or both. It also suggests that any person who exports firearms, ammunitions and other accessories in areas with conflicts shall be sentenced to an imprisonment of between five years and life imprisonment and a fine of Frw5m or both.. Fidéle Mitsindo, the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Security and National Integrity presented the Bill during a Lower House plenary session on Monday. He said it will help reduce the number of firearms in wrong hands thus reducing insecurity. We want to curtail terrorist acts by banning illegal possession of firearms just like some other countries have done, Mitsindo said. He explained that the bill was initiated in the Chamber of Deputies based on the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime relating to illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms. In doing so, we also considered the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, he added. MP Emmanuel Gatera said that the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) was instrumental in the drafting of the bill. The bill comes to help ensure total security of the masses, he said. It also states that the Commissioner General of Police shall issue authorization for possession of firearms, ammunitions and related accessories.Private security companies would have to first submit a letter to the Commissioner General of Police detailing the required quantity of firearms and the tax paid by the company. Erasing or altering the features of firearms, illegal circulation of firearms and light weapons, ammunitions and other accessories will also become criminal under the draft law. MPs said the bill was being treated as a matter of urgency. It will now be forwarded to the Senate for approval. Ends
