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Top Namibian Cop Says its 'Too Easy' to Get Guns, Suggests Law Change
20 May 2013
Namibian (Windhoek)
Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga has admitted that it has become "too easy to own" a firearm in the country and that there is an urgent need to amend the Arms and Ammunition Act of 1996 in order to address its shortcomings.
The Namibian on Friday reported that police issued close to 15,000 licenses for guns to civilians in the past two years - just over 7,100 license applications in 2011 and about 7,600 licenses were issued in 2012.
"As someone responsible... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,Nigeria,China,United States,United Kingdom
Former Doyen of UK Gun Lobby Pleads Guilty to More Gunrunning
17 May 2013
Democrat and Chronicle (USA)
British arms dealer Gary Hyde has admitted helping smuggle illegal AK-47 magazines into the United States for sale by a Chili-based firearms wholesaler, federal court records show.
Hyde signed a plea agreement in late April but it was not filed until this week, records show.
Hyde admitted that he had helped alter the markings on the 5,760 magazines so their country of origin — China — would not be known. In the U.S., there is a federal ban on the importation of... (GunPolicy.org)
Namibia Police Issued 15,000 Gun Licenses in Two Years
17 May 2013
Namibian (Windhoek)
Police issued close to 15,000 licenses for guns to civilians in the past two years, according to figures The Namibian obtained yesterday. One licensee can have up to four firearms.
Edwin Kanguatjivi, the head of the Public Relations Division of the Namibian Police confirmed that in 2011 police gave greenlight to just over 7,100 license applications and about 7,600 licenses were issued in 2012. Last year the police rejected 178 applications for licenses, a few more than... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Dealers in South Africa Investigated Over Possible Law Breaches
15 May 2013
Independent/IOL Daily News (South Africa)
JOHANNESBURG - An independent probe has been commissioned into alleged unscrupulous practices among firearms dealers, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Wednesday.
Concerns had recently been raised about firearm dealers not complying with the Firearms Control Act, Mthethwa said in a statement.
"In order to ensure that the provisions of the act are properly complied with… I have decided to set up an independent investigation into the practices complained of," he... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Man Denies Fatal Shooting of Former Girlfriend
15 May 2013
News24 (Cape Town) / The Witness
PIETERMARITZBURG - A KwaZulu-Natal man charged with murdering the mother of his child after she had obtained a protection order against him has denied killing her.
Thembinkosi Sibiya, 27, is charged with shooting Gugu Anette Ndlela in the head on 3 November 2011, when he also allegedly tried to shoot Ntuthuko Nxasana, the man he believed she was in a relationship with.
He pleaded not guilty before acting judge Sibusiso Mngomezulu in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on... (GunPolicy.org)
Iranian Jailed for Illegal Arms Importation into Nigeria
14 May 2013
This Day (Lagos)
Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court in Lagos monday sentenced an Iranian national, Azim Aghajani, and his Nigerian counterpart, Ali Jega, to 17 years imprisonment each for their involvement in the importation of firearms into Nigeria.
Justice Okeke while delivering his judgment, held that he was not in doubt that the 13 containers loaded with arms were imported into the country, contrary to the claim by the accused persons that the containers contained... (GunPolicy.org)
Zambia Minister Asks Police to Revive Gun Amnesty to Reduce Crime
12 May 2013
Times of Zambia
Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu has urged the Zambia Police Service to revive the gun amnesty and buy-back schemes to reduce the number of illicit firearms in Zambia.
Mr Lungu said the police should seriously look into the increased misuse of firearms that were mostly smuggled into Zambia.
He said this when he officiated at the opening of Kanele Shopping Mall and Kanele Enterprise yesterday.
"The regulations of firearms dealing are continuously being stiffened both... (GunPolicy.org)
Kenya Authorities Plan Crackdown on Illegal Guns
10 May 2013
Star (Kenya)
Western PC James Serian has said the regional security team is profiling people with illegal arms. "There are illegal firearms in Western particularly in Mt Elgon, Malaba, Teso, Busia, along the Kenya and even Kakamega. Currently we are profiling all persons we suspect have fire arms," said Serian.
He said the provincial security team will start an operation to recover all guns in wrong hands in the area. Serian said the porous Kenya-Uganda border could be blamed for... (GunPolicy.org)
Kenya Police Deny Allegations Guns Being Issued to Unlicensed People
9 May 2013
Star (Kenya)
MOMBASA - An assistant police commissioner has denied claims that firearms are being issue to unvetted people. Central Firearms Bureau chief licensing officer David Baya said firearms are only issued to civilians after going through a series of thorough interrogations by security officers at different levels.
A civilian who owned a licensed gun told media houses that there is a broker in Mombasa behind the deals. He said the broker cuts deals between senior security... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Confirm 1 Million Illegal Guns in Nigeria
9 May 2013
Daily Newswatch (Nigeria)
Against the backdrop of mounting security challenges in Nigeria arising from the Boko Haram insurgency and ethno-religious crisis in the north as well as armed robbery and kidnapping in the south, it has been estimated that there are about one million illegally held guns in the country in civilian hands. The market price for most popular of them all, the AK-47 pattern of assault weapon, goes for $180 (about N27,000). While the total number of guns in the hands of... (GunPolicy.org)
German Arms Firm Illegally Sold Weapons to Mexico
7 May 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
A German arms manufacturer has admitted to illegally selling thousands of rifles to Mexico, where the weapons were reportedly used to commit human rights violations.
Heckler & Koch, which produces weapons such as pistols, machine guns, and grenade launchers, is under investigation by German authorities for exporting G36 rifles to several Mexican states where Germany prohibits gun sales, due to human rights concerns.
The company previously claimed it had only ever... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Licence Dispute Continues in South Africa
30 April 2013
Eyewitness News (South Africa)
JOHANNESBURG - Despite statistics by the South African Police Services indicating a decline in gun-related crimes, the debate on gun laws and ownership in South Africa remains divided.
Varying degrees of the debate have emerged with many still opposing the easy access to guns as it has been reported that it takes only 90 days to acquire a gun license.
The issue was thrust back into the spotlight earlier this year, when Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Seize Over 4,000 Weapons in Angola
30 April 2013
Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
CAXITO — At least 4,483 fire-arms, among which 3,333 AKM, were collected in the northen Bengo province in the last six years, as part of the disarmament process of citizens illegally owning weapons.
According to a weekly assessment from the National Police in Bengo sent to Angop on Monday, the collection includes 23,472 ammunitions, 1,390 magazines, 340 explosive devices and 26 grenades.
The statement informs that during last week the police recorded a compulsory... (GunPolicy.org)
Yemen,Argentina,Costa Rica,Libya,Germany,United States,Brazil,Paraguay,Austria
Most Brazilian Guns Exported to US
29 April 2013
Folha de Sao Paulo
BRASILIA - The U.S., currently discussing restrictions on the sale of firearms, purchased 7.9 million guns from Brazil in the past 40 years, and 59% of those were exported during the Lula administration (2003-2010).
That is the result of a new study by the Army Command to which Folha had access through the Access to Information Act, with a detailed record of the sellers and buyers of 9.9 million revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns, among other weapons, exported... (GunPolicy.org)
45 Weapons Seized in Anti-Poaching Operation in Cameroon [Français]
29 April 2013
Cameroon Tribune / Camer (Belgium)
[Translated summary: 20 poachers were arrested and 45 firearms seized after an operation in south east Cameroon, while two people were injured. Officials are concerned about the effects of poaching on wildlife and the proliferation of weapons.]
20 braconniers arrêtés et 45 armes à feu saisies à l'EstC'est le bilan de l'opération conduite le ministère des Forêts et de la Faune du 15 au 26 avril.
Le bilan de l'opération coup de poing organisée par le Ministère... (GunPolicy.org)
Over 2.6 Million Ammo Rounds Destroyed in Republic of Congo
25 April 2013
Global Times (China)
More than 2.6 million rounds of unexploded ammunition have been neutralized by a non-governmental organization in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, to avoid a repetition of the deadly blast in the city last year.
The action was taken in Brazzaville's Mpila district, where an explosion occurred at an arms depot on March 4, 2012, the European Union (EU) said in a statement released here on Wednesday.
"The evaluation of the clearing and clean-up... (GunPolicy.org)
Africa,Oceania,Europe,Asia,United States,Americas
Study Shows Gun Ownership Doesn't Preserve Freedom, Democracy
25 April 2013
Atlantic (USA)
After League City, Texas, became the first city in the state to pass a resolution effectively nullifying federal gun regulations in February, Councilwoman Heidi Thiess, who speared the motion, shared a quote. "Gen. Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the commander of Japan's WWII Combined Fleet, was asked why he never bothered to invade the U.S. after Pearl Harbor," she remarked. "And you know what he said? 'You can't invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind... (GunPolicy.org)
Kenyans Worried Over Use of Pistols, Homemade Guns as Crimes Rise
17 April 2013
Capital FM (Nairobi)
NAIROBI, Kenya – A survey conducted recently has revealed an alarming level of armed robberies and other violent crimes in Nairobi.
According to the study by Security Research and Information Centre, 41 percent of crimes reported are violent robberies and residents in all parts of the city are prone to such attacks.
Inspector General David Kimaiyo welcomed the Nairobi Regional Annual Crime Observatory Report, saying it will help in facilitating stakeholders to... (GunPolicy.org)
Poland,Ukraine,Israel,Côte d'Ivoire,Bulgaria,Belarus,China,Angola,Russia
Guns Easily Available in Côte D'Ivoire Despite Embargo
16 April 2013
IRIN (UN News)
ABIDJAN - Côte d'Ivoire's recent turbulence - including the ouster of president Henri Konan Bédié in 1999, a long-running insurgency and deadly poll unrest in 2011 - has left the country awash in arms, which have contributed to human rights abuses, widespread crime and persistent insecurity.
Two years after coming to power in 2000, Laurent Gbagbo's administration faced an army mutiny, which morphed into a full-scale rebellion. In response, the government underwent a... (GunPolicy.org)
Rwanda Calls for Firearms Marking to Fight Trafficking
16 April 2013
New Times (Rwanda)
The Minister of Internal Security and Chairman of the Regional Centre on Small Arms, Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana, has called for firearms to be marked and recorded as means of fighting illicit arms trafficking.
Harerimana made the remarks as he opened a two-day trans-regional seminar on arms making guidelines for the Economic Community of Central Africa States (Eccas) in Kigali. The meeting, according to the minister, is an opportunity to harmonise efforts and share... (GunPolicy.org)
