Vusumuzi Dube
Clementine Phulu, Sunday News Reporter
BULAWAYO has recorded a decline in crimes involving fire arms since the gun amnesty came to an end last year in September, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has said.
Last year, President Mnangagwa declared an amnesty for members of the public who were in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition to voluntarily surrender them to the police and face no criminal charge.
The call came after cases of abuse of firearms, often unregistered, had been on the rise, with unlicensed owners committing heinous crimes such as murder.
Bulawayo Provincial police spokesperson Abednico Ncube has revealed that the number of armed robberies involving firearms has decreased as a result of the public’s response to the gun amnesty.
“Police officers are deployed and they are still making follow ups of the fire arm holders that maybe are not licensed, not renewed because firearms licences are renewed every three years, so police officers are on the ground making such follow ups and we still call upon people to come in the open and make sure that the fire arms that they are holding are fully licensed and the owners have the legal right to possess them.
“If someone dies while being the owner of a fire arm in your family make sure that it is immediately taken to a police station or a report to that effect is made to the nearest police station where a decision will be made,” said Insp Ncube.
Over 500 unregistered firearms were voluntarily surrendered to the police countrywide.
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