Namibians own 396 000 firearms

Namibia has 396 000 privately owned guns in circulation, which, when compared to its small population, far outweighs per capita firearm possession in other African countries.At 15.4 guns per 100 people, Namibia has the second highest per capita civil possession of firearms in Africa. Weapons watchdog the Small Arms Survey has released its latest report on gun ownership around the world, which indicates that of the close to 400 000 guns owned by civilians in Namibia, 195 990 are illegal and 200 010 are legal firearms.Only the island of Réunion has a higher civilian ownership of firearms per capita on the continent at 19.61 firearms per 100 people, with 171 000 firearms being in civil hands in that country. Although there are more than 5.3 million guns owed by civilians in neighbouring South Africa, this equates to only 9.65 firearms per 100 people. The Small Arms Survey estimates there are 97 000 guns in civilian possession in Botswana, which equals 4.3 firearms per 100 people. Furthermore, Angola has 11.19 civilian firearms per 100 people, with more than 2.89 million firearms in civil society. The survey includes statistics from over 230 countries and is based on the ownership of revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles, carbines, assault rifles and sub- and light machineguns held by civilians, the military and law-enforcement groups. It says Namibia has a total of 11 880 military firearms and 15 000 law-enforcement firearms for its 12 438 active members. Private gun ownership in Namibia has more than doubled from 2004 to 2017, with handguns dominating new licence applications and self-defence cited as the number-one reason to own a firearm. Concern has been expressed over the fact that it is too easy for people to obtain a firearm licence in Namibia. A recent briefing paper on gun ownership and gun crime by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that the number of registered firearms has increased from around 97 000 to more than 200 000 since 2004; up from five guns per 100 000 citizens to nine guns per 100 citizens last year. The IPPR made a call for the fast-tracking of amendments on the Arms and Ammunition Act of 1996. Some amendments are expected to make it harder to acquire a firearm licence, especially for small arms like pistols. Among other things, the new amendments will require background checks and will raise the minimum age for acquiring a firearm licence from 18 to 25 years.On average, 6 653 gun licences are issued annually. Although quite an extensive debate took place on this issue in the National Assembly in 2016, no amendments have been made. The 'Global Violent Deaths' report released earlier this year indicated that at a rate of 24 violent deaths per 100 000 in Namibia, this is more than double the global rate. Countries with the highest rates of lethal violence typically had a higher proportion of firearm-related killings and Namibia was no exception. In 2016 data indicated that in Namibia at least three deaths per 100 000 were committed with firearms. Namibia was also among the countries with the highest death rate by use of firearm globally, ranking 14th. In an effort to clamp down on illegal weapons in Namibia, the government in August 2016 declared an amnesty for the surrender of illegal weapons, which lasted until 1 February 2017. During those months a large number of illegal weapons were surrendered to the police. By the end of January 2017, a total of 1 170 firearms, 95 824 rounds of ammunition and 81 explosives had been surrendered. According to the Small Arms Survey, there are over a billion firearms in the world today and the global stockpile has increased over the past decade, largely due to civilian gun ownership, which grew from 650 million in 2006 to 857 million in 2017. This number includes legal and illegal firearms in civilian hands, ranging from improvised craft weapons to factory-made handguns, rifles, shotguns, and in some countries, even machineguns. The estimate of over 1 billion firearms worldwide at the end of 2017 also includes 133 million such weapons held by government military forces and 22.7 million by law-enforcement agencies. The survey stressed that the more important number is the estimated rate of civilian-owned firearms per 100 residents. At the top of that ranking are Americans, who own 121 firearms for every 100 residents. They are followed by Yemenis at 53 and Montenegro and Serbian citizens with 39. Civilian ownership does not only mean weapons owned by individuals but also those possessed by private security firms, non-state armed groups and gangs. While these groups own a small fraction of the civilian total, their weapons can be disproportionately used in armed violence.ELLANIE SMIT

Namibians own 396 000 firearms

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-25

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Namibians own 396 000 firearms

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-25

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