150 000 gun licences issued in Namibia

POLICE inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga said the number of people who own guns is out of control and that more stringent measures should be taken to control the situation.

Ndeitunga said the police have issued over 150 000 firearm licences to individuals since the Arms and Ammunition Act was introduced in 1998. The number is so high, he explained, because acquiring a licence is a simple process as long as the applicant does not have a criminal record.

“The majority of those who apply for firearms claim that they want to use it for self-defence,” said Ndeitunga in an interview with The Namibian.

But now the police chief fears this gives irresponsible individuals easy access to ammunition, a situation he said has to stop.

“We are hoping the new amendments to the Arms and Ammunition Act that were introduced last year will make it a bit more difficult to acquire licences,” he said.

Ndeitunga said the police want to introduce a system where applicants’ backgrounds are thoroughly checked and the minimum age for acquiring a licence be increased from 18 to 25 years of age.

“Although these are not provisions in the Act, I’m hoping they become part of the legislation in future,” he said.

He also said although measures could be put in place to tighten gun control in Namibia, some tools of violence are hard to control as the perpetrators, who cannot afford firearms, usually use knives and bottles to commit murder.

“This is especially prevalent at shebeens when people are drunk and resort to violence,” he said, adding that shebeen owners should set firm rules that disallow knives on their premises.

Reacting to the recent incidents involving police officers who shot their partners and then turned the guns on themselves, Ndeitunga said the police have proper control over handling of firearms.

“We have a firearm control system that requires officers to book out firearms and book them in when returning them,” said Ndeitunga.

He said officers were not allowed to carry firearms outside working hours and that the recent case involving chief inspector Christopher Munyika, who shot and injured his wife before turning the gun on himself, took place while he was on duty.

Another police officer at Oshakati, Hendrick Ndeyanale Bernhard, also killed his wife before killing himself on the same day.

Ndeitunga said both are domestic violence cases rather than a symptom of the police not having gun controls in place.

“I know the public is shocked when they hear that police officers, who are supposed to be protecting them, are capable of murder, but he (Munyika) took advantage of the time he was on duty to carry out the attack on his wife,” Ndeitunga said.

The recent shootings by policemen on unarmed civilians beg the question of whether the police are being allowed to get away with fatal shootings of those they are supposed to protect.

The killing of the young student nurse, Martha Iilonga, in February in Windhoek is a case in point. Iilonga was shot and killed by police when they opened fire at a vehicle suspected to have been used to commit crimes. She was a passenger in the car.

The public is also still waiting on the Office of the Prime Minister to pronounce itself on the outcome of investigations into exile child Frieda Ndatipo’s shooting during a March last year. Ndatipo’s case was handed over to the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation.

Police spokesperson Edwin Kanguatjivi said that all police brutality and shooting cases are different and have their own merit.

“When the police pursue an individual and that individual tries to run away, it is seen as undermining the duty of the police,” he said.

Kanguatjivi said it was still to be established whether Iilonga was an accomplice in the get-away vehicle or whether she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He denied that the police were lenient on those responsible for the shootings, saying that any police officer who is convicted has to face the full wrath of the law like any other citizen.

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