Gun toting Namibia

By: SHINOVENE IMMANUEL

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 the previous year – 109 in 2012 and 69 in 2011.
Responding to further queries, Kanguatjivi said about 148 000 licenses had been given to the public since 1998, a staggering figure in a country where guns are considered as one of the most frequently used weapons in committing crimes. No records are available about licenses issued before 1998 or how many weapons are in civilians hands.
The police spokesperson could also not provide details on the type of guns licensed in the past two years, but said the licenses cover a variety of weapons including handguns, shotguns and hunting rifles. People who applied for the licenses gave reasons such as the protection of private property and for business purposes like security services and hunting.
A license can have two or more guns registered on it and it can be inherited. Kanguatjivi stressed that Namibians had no reason to panic over the number of firearms licenses approved because it is not easy to acquire and to license a gun in Namibia.
He said prospective firearm holders go though thorough scrutiny before their application is approved. Some of the facts verified are: the mental state of the applicant, criminal record, history of domestic violence and violent crimes.
Pauline Dempers, a council member of Nangof Trust which has been lobbying for tighter gun control, described the number of licenses issued as unreasonably high and “creating armies in our houses”.
She said that considering the country’s population of two million, issuing 14 720 licenses in 24 months is unacceptably high. “It fuels domestic violence, people are intimidated [and] people are killing themselves because the guns are easily available,” she added.
Dempers said the main problem with gun ownership is that the Arms and Ammunition Act of 1996 is lax and they are working on amendments to stem the shortcomings.
The Namibian Police last week made an announcement in the media calling for applicants to “urgently” collect their firearm licenses at Wanaheda Police Station in Windhoek. The list indicated that the applications date back to 2009 and had 61 names.  The list had applicants as young as 28 years and as old as 67 years.
Namibia has had many cases of crimes involving firearms especially by what has come to be termed “passion killings” where men often kill their girlfriends and wives and then turn the weapon on themselves when a romantic relationship turns sour.
On 9 March 2001 Namibia ratified a protocol of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to tighten regulations on the manufacturing, stockpiling of, trafficking in, possession and use of firearms as part of concerns to their contribution to the high level of instability in the region.
The countries declared they would review national legislation to prohibit the unrestricted possession of small arms and the total prohibition of the possession and use of light weapons by civilians.

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