Nicodemus Odhiambo
The Tanzanian government is pressing ahead with arms trade liberalisation against a backdrop of outrage and condemnation from civil rights groups including churches.
Catholic bishops are the latest team to join the fray with 10 human rights groups publicly condemning the government’s decision.
Authorities have insisted that the arms trade programme must go on and has bolstered the decision with a firm reassurance that strict measures will be followed in licensing arms dealers.
The bishops, led by their chair, Bishop Justin Samba, say arms pose a danger to peace and have called on the government to suspend the decision immediately. “Despite the government’s assurance to control the importation and sale of arms, we are worried over this exercise because of past habits by the government to fail to curb illegal importation of goods.”
In a letter signed by Professor Ruth Meena of the Environmental and Human Rights Care Organisation to the minister of home affairs, all the groups, reacting to the proposed programme, say that the decision to liberalise the sale of firearms has come as a rude shock.
“Who is going to benefit from the liberalised arms sale?” they ask. “And whose interest will the liberalised arms sale serve? What is the implication of having arms in the streets in a context where three-quarters of young people are unemployed?
“What culture do we want to promote to our young generation? Kill and shoot like in the streets of Los Angeles, in the suburbs of Johannesburg or Rwanda, Burundi or the [Democratic] Republic of Congo? What is it that we Tanzanians are missing by not having this `cardinal right’ of buying and selling arms freely?”
The groups claim that developments in military technology, as well as the end of the Cold War, have dealt a big blow to the manufacturers and dealers of arms and other explosives, so much so that they are seeking new markets in the Third World.
Minister of Home Affairs Ali Ameir Mohammed told the groups that firms have to be licenced to do the business following the collapse of the Agriculture and Industrial Supplies Company (Aisco), the state-run monopoly in the weaponry and explosives business.
Ameir has accused the media of instilling fear among the people that their security is at risk with the privatisation of the sale of firearms. “This fear is uncalled for and the government has all along insisted that the business will be strictly controlled. The rate of crime is not going to increase because of firearms business,” Ameir pointed out.
Private entrepreneurs have been invited to apply for authorisation to import and sell firearms and explosives for civil use in Tanzania. The government has said that successful applicants will be subjected to routine and thorough inspections in order to monitor the amount and types of weapons which enter the country.
Dealers who are interested in the arms business have been directed to send their applications to the inspector general of police and the commissioner of minerals.
They are supposed to fulfil 21 regulations before being granted permission to sell guns, shotguns, rifles, bullets and explosives.
The regulations state that applicants must not have a previous criminal record and that dealerships should be impregnable and guarded by recognised security personnel. Another regulation is that their employees should have experience with weapons and know how to operate and maintain them.
Dealers and manufacturers applying to sell explosives are required to construct warehouses capable of storing more than 10 tons of explosives at one time. They are also required to state whether they will be operating for foreign companies or individually.
A former high-ranking police chief for the Mara region, Mustafa Wandwi, warned that the liberalisation of the arms trade will increase the crime rate and endanger the lives and property of Tanzania’s citizens.
“When the trade comes to fruition, the ill- equipped police force will fail to contain social unrest and this may lead to sky- rocketing incidences of lawbreaking,” said Wandwi.
“The government reached the decision hastily without carrying out any research. We don’t need to liberalise the arms trade while we lack basic services such as food, health care and education.”
In the event that the government carries on with the decision despite the public outcry, Wandwi has advised that huge taxes be pegged in a bid to scare away unscrupulous traders.
The newly launched Hunters and Gun Owners’ Association of Tanzania has also rubbished the government’s decision. Members have challenged the government to publicise the list of contending applicants, saying they are aware that unscrupulous traders have already applied. The group’s chair, Abubakar Abubakar, said: “If the government does not make the list public soon, unscrupulous dealers are going to qualify.”
Tanzanian Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Aden Mwamunyange has dismissed the group’s apprehensions saying he cannot disclose the list although the group maintains that they are aware that some dealers who have applied are engaged in shady dealings.
l In a related development, the government of Zanzibar has outlawed the entrance of arms bought under the new arrangement on to the island saying the sale of arms in the Isles was not liberal.
The Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office, Iddi Pandu, has announced that authorities will mete out stiff penalties against anybody found sending arms on to the island.