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The Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunition (SLeCAA) in a press release warns against the production of shotguns without a valid license.
The release stated that some local artisans or blacksmiths engaged in the production and repair of shotguns without a valid license issued by the Registrar and Commissioner of SLeCAA.
They warn that these craftsmen are a major threat to the security of Sierra Leone and are contributing hugely to the illegal
proliferation of small arms and ammunition.
They stated that the Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunition was established by an Act of Parliament in 2010 to regulate the manufacture, sale, possession, and use of small arms and light weapons.
To continue with their statement the sited that Section 32 subsection 1 of the SLeCAA Act of 2023 mandated the Commission to regulate the manufacture and sale of guns in Sierra Leone.
“A person shall not manufacture or offer for sale arms or their manufacturing materials within Sierra Leone except on a valid license issued by the Commissioner for that purpose,” (Section 32(1)) Local gun manufacturers and stakeholders in the security architecture could recall that in 2020, the Government of Sierra Leone supported the Commission to conduct a national survey of local gun manufacturers.
They also cited a survey that captured a total of 377 unlicensed local gun manufacturers and repairers. Out of that number, 138 are local gun manufacturers whilst the remaining 239 are repairers.
The Commission stated that “they want to make it categorically clear that, since that survey was conducted in 2020, it has not issued license to any blacksmith or gunsmith for the production of shotguns. Therefore, the Commission is calling all those involve in the illegal production and repair of shotguns to stop forthwith. Anyone found in the production and repairs of shotguns without a valid license issued by the Registrar for that purpose; will be prosecuted and the full penalty of the law will be enforced as prescribed in Section 32 Subsection 1 of the SLeCAA Act of 2023; which states that ‘A person who contravenes sub-section (7) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding ten thousand new Leones (10,000 ) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment”
