By Agness Changala
Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba says the indiscriminate use of guns by some citizens should partly be blamed on them as authorities for issuing them out without subjecting applicants to mental and psychological examination to see if they are fit to own firearms.
And Musamba says the police have withdrawn some firearms from some people who have been found wanting and would not hesitate to do so to anyone else.
Meanwhile, Musamba says going forwards, anyone who applies to own a gun, will be subjected to mental checkup as well as checking their upbringing, tosee if they are psychologically ready to handle firearms.
Musamba said the police were already working on President Hakainde Hichilema’s directive to review gun licensing
“The review is in the making and we are working on that. When it will be ready, Zambians will be informed,” he said.
He said over time, many people had used guns to get rid of some friends and members of the family, a situation he said should not be tolerated.
Musamba said authorities were overlooking the fact that those who applied to own firearms should be subjected to mental background as well as checking their upbringing.
“Maybe there is something we have been overlooking that people who apply to own firearms …and I think if examination of their mental background as well as their upbringing to see how psychologically they have been ready to handle firearms. This part maybe, can be blamed on us authorities that we have been giving these firearms to people and this has happened,” he said
Musamba said overtime, there was this thought that Zambians were moderate people who wouldn’t go to extremes with certain things that they had done.
“We have always taken them to be mild characters and not extreme, not radical but of late, we are just learning that there is this element of radicalism in our citizens and now where is it coming from?” he asked. “How do we miss that? Maybe we should be subjecting such applicants to psychologists to see how best they could help us or if we subject them to that, would that be giving too much responsibility on psychologists because we need a psychological background of citizens so that we can assess them on their own to see if they have that mental strength to live with guns as it were.”
Musamba said for now, the police had reservations and hence the suspension of dishing out firearm licenses and this was done purely in the interest of all citizens of Zambia.
He added that the suspension of issuance of firearm licenses was effected immediately the pronouncements were made in the media from the Head of State.
“We took serious steps and we had to freeze every process that was in the pipeline to dish out or to hand out firearms to people because there is a serious omission of I think eee …psychologist reports on certain people, we need that very badly. If that’s not too much to ask,” he said.
Musamba further said those in possession of guns and were unstable, their behavior may actually lead the police to withdrawing those firearms.
He said the police had a right to terminate licensees each time people seem to be irresponsible.
“Their thinking, their attitude, even the way they keep firearms in a home. If it’s not under lock and key, if it’s not used in the manner it’s supposed to be used, my office does terminate licenses and withdraw. So we have actually withdrawn some firearms from some people who have been found wanting and we will not hesitate to do so to any other potential owner,” Musamba said.
He said the suspension on the issuance of licenses for guns would only be lifted once the police saw the situation was getting stable enough.
“We will wait until that period when we see that things have stabilised. How is the outlook in society about firearms and also the outlook of applicants that is when we will do it? Otherwise, it is not necessary to rush this and give it a timeline which is not going to help us fulfill our objectives that we have just set out for sure,” said Musamba.
