Government Tightens Firearms Act With Stricter Licensing, Training, Psychological Tests

The Government of Zimbabwe has moved to tighten the Firearms Act, introducing comprehensive amendments aimed at modernizing the 1957 legislation.

The changes will see stricter conditions for the issuance of firearms licenses, including mandatory psychological and training tests, age restrictions, firearm profiling for easy tracing, and increased penalties for violations.

The Cabinet approved the principles for amending and strengthening the Firearms Act, which will upgrade the registration and licensing system for firearms and establish a national firearms database and registry.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Jenfan Muswere, outlined the key changes to be introduced through the Amendment Bill.

“The amendments will also seek, among other things, to introduce psychological and training tests before one is issued with a firearm certificate and place an age restriction on the possession of firearms,” Dr. Muswere explained.

The amendments aim to introduce a classification system for firearm certificates, distinguishing between those issued to individuals and juristic persons. This will ensure greater oversight and accountability in the issuance of firearms, making it easier to track and regulate firearm ownership in Zimbabwe.

In addition to these measures, the new law will limit the number of firearms an individual can own, ensuring that each firearm is profiled and easily identifiable for tracing purposes. This is intended to enhance law enforcement’s ability to combat illegal arms circulation and reduce gun-related crimes.

During the Cabinet briefing, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe, highlighted the need for the Firearms Act to be aligned with current global trends and international protocols to which Zimbabwe is a signatory. “The Firearms Act has been in existence since 1957, and a lot has changed since then,” Minister Kazembe said.

“Some of the terms in that Act are not consistent with what is obtaining at the moment, and some new firearms are not defined in the old Act. There are also a lot of gaps that we’ve identified.”

One of the significant changes the new Act will introduce is the raising of the minimum age for firearm possession. Under the current law, individuals as young as 16 years old are allowed to own firearms. The government is now pushing to raise this age to 21, arguing that younger individuals may not have the maturity to responsibly handle firearms.

“We believe a 16-year-old is not mature enough to be in possession of a gun, so we need to up that age to a certain acceptable age,” Minister Kazembe said. “We are thinking of 21 years.”

The current law allows for a firearm license to be valid for three years without any reviews. Minister Kazembe noted that this would also be re-examined to ensure that the circumstances under which a license was granted remain valid over time.

He emphasized the importance of regular checks to verify the continued mental fitness and necessity of the license holder. “For starters, probably you are not the same person mentally, but you still hold on to that gun,” he noted.

“We also realize that there was no limit to the number of guns one can have under one license. When you’re getting a license, we need to be sure what you’re getting that license for, and we need to continuously check if you are using that gun for the purpose for which you applied.”

The new law will categorize firearm licenses, making distinctions between different types of firearms and the purposes for which they are used. It will also employ advanced technology to better manage and profile firearms and ammunition, allowing law enforcement to track them more efficiently.

Minister Kazembe stated that the reforms aim to ensure that only individuals who meet strict criteria are allowed to own firearms. “We are doing all of this to try and make sure that only those who deserve to have firearms are given licenses,” he said. “At the moment, everyone may have access to a license, and this may have resulted in so many guns lying around. So we need to deal with that issue.”

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