Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday passed legislation aimed at tightening ownership and sale of guns in the country after a surge in regional ethnic violence attributed to the proliferation of small arms in private hands due to the volatile political situation, reported Reuters.
The law was unanimously cleared in the 547-seat parliament with just two votes against and four abstentions. It prohibits the sale, possession, storage and transporting of firearms without a valid license.
Last April, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government said it had seized 21 machine guns, more than 33,000 handguns, 275 rifles and 300,000 bullets in different parts of Ethiopia over the previous year.
According to state media, the Ethiopian security forces confiscated 2,221 handguns and 71 Kalashnikov assault rifles in October in Gonder in the Amhara region, one of the areas particularly affected by ethnic strife. The reports said that the rifles had been smuggled into the country in oil trucks from Sudan.
“There is a significant number of guns in our society since the previous government and the law will help us to formalize ownership,” lawmaker Tesfaye Daba said when the bill was presented before the parliament.
Tesfaye said the new law provides for each region to stipulate a legal age for gun ownership while limiting the number of firearms an individual can own to just one. As per the new legislation, violations could bring up to three years in prison.
It will also ban private trade in weaponry and allow only allowing certain government institutions to import guns. People found involved in arms trafficking would face prison terms of eight to 20 years. However, the prohibitions do not apply to law enforcement bodies on duty or security guards.
The law has been passed ahead of general elections scheduled for May in which Prime Minister Abiy will seek another five-year term.
