....And then of course the UPDF itself has been instrumental in providing light arms to unscrupulous elements in the society.
Small Arms Control: Uganda Hires South African Firm
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The East African (Nairobi)
January 20, 2003
Posted to the web January 22, 2003
David Musoke, Special Correspondent
Nairobi
UGANDA HAS hired a South African security firm to help it control the proliferation of illegal small arms in the country.
The firm, known as Safe Africa International has begun carrying out initial studies to identify strategies to control illegal small arms, which are blamed for rising insecurity, murders and robberies in the country.
The co-ordinator of the Uganda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Richard Nabudere, said last week that Safe Africa International would also assist in the formulation of a five-year plan to control the proliferation of small arms.
Under the United Nations Programme of Action Against Small Arms project, 10 countries in the Great Lakes Region have joined forces to control illegal small arms.
The countries are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea.
Mr Nabudere, who is also a Commissioner of Police in charge of Private Security and Fire Arms Control, was appointed the co-ordinator of the Uganda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NFP) in March last year.
The 10 countries were given up to December 31 to form national focal points. Most of the countries have not fulfilled this requirement.
The NFP is made up of 15 representatives of local agencies involved in small arms control.
This body meets once a month to discuss the problem and propose ways and means of overcoming it.
"The NFP has a smaller secretariat comprising representatives from the police, army, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Internal Affairs and the Office of the President," the official said.
Safe Africa International began work in October by holding countrywide workshops to obtain views and suggestions from stakeholders on how the exercise should be conducted.
"We have recognised the fact that firearms meant for legitimate law enforcement activities can end up in the wrong hands and be used in criminal activities such as armed robberies, cattle rustling, rebel activities and even settling personal disputes," Mr Nabudere said.
"Armed conflicts and insecurity in the region arising out of violent changes of regimes and rebel activities have also provided fertile ground for proliferation of illegal small arms, such as poor systems of conflict resolution, chronic poverty and deprivation and other incentives," the official said.
Official security agencies in many African countries do not have secure armouries to store weaponry, nor do they have a proper system for stocktaking and accountability of the arms.
The ongoing destruction of huge stockpiles of arms in Eastern Europe has put large quantities of illegal weapons into circulation, many of which have found their way into armed conflict areas in Africa, Mr Nabudere said.
He said that the government's inability to provide security to its citizens, combined with the proliferation of firearms had led to the establishment of private security agencies, which number 70 at present.
