The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed that more than 4,000 firearms were voluntarily surrendered by civilians during Ghana’s recent gun amnesty exercise as part of efforts to strengthen national security and curb the proliferation of illegal weapons.
The Minister said the initiative formed part of a broader strategy to regulate the possession of firearms and reduce the risks associated with their misuse.
According to him, the government introduced the amnesty programme to encourage individuals holding unregistered or illegal firearms to surrender them without facing prosecution.
“If there were 50 guns and now people have 200 guns, you will say that that is over 300% increase,” he said, explaining concerns about the growing number of firearms in circulation.
He emphasised that beyond the number of weapons in circulation, the key concern for authorities is how such firearms are being used.
“The most important thing is that the guns that people have, what are they using it for? Are they using it for hunting?” he asked.
Speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 Ghana on Sunday, 15 March 2026, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak revealed that the amnesty programme had yielded significant results, with thousands of firearms now in the custody of security authorities.
“That is why we came in with the amnesty, and then during the amnesty period, as I am sure you may have the statistics, it shows that we were able to retrieve over 4,000 guns in the hands of the civilians,” he said.
He added that the number forms part of a larger cache of weapons previously confiscated or retrieved by the state through various security operations.
“Before even then, we had over 11,000 that we have retrieved. Now we are marking and preparing to destroy them,” the minister stated.
The Interior Minister indicated that the government remains committed to ensuring that firearms possession is properly regulated under Ghana’s laws, while also encouraging citizens to cooperate with authorities in maintaining public safety.
The Ministry of the Interior on January 17, extended the Gun Amnesty Programme to January 30, 2026, as part of government efforts to curb the proliferation of illicit and unregistered firearms in the country.
The programme, which was declared on November 18, 2025, initially took effect on December 1, 2025, and was scheduled to end on January 15, 2026.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com