Firearms are locally made by blacksmiths
By Steven Bockarie Mansaray Kabala
A fourteen-year-old boy is alleged to have been shot dead by his relative at Kanunka village, about four miles from the northern Koinadugu district headquarter town of Kabala.
Crime officer attached at the Kabala police station,Detective Inspector Sorie Ibrahim Jalloh, told Politicothat the boy, identified later as Foday Kamara, was shot dead by his cousin, Songbon Sesay, on his jaw.He said Songbon’s father,Sorie Sesay, owned a garden about a mile from the village “where the short gun was kept to secure his garden fromwild animals”.
The police inspector said the locally made gun was exposed by Sesay, Songbon’s father, to his son. The gun was loaded with cartridges but Songbon said he was not aware it was set for shooting.
“By 4:00pm on that day, Wednesday,Abu Marah and the deceased went to the garden where Songbon was playing with the locally made short gun.It went off and killed his cousin,” the police said.
Some villagers told Politico that they had to rush to the garden after they heard the gun shot and found Foday Kamara dead.
The suspect was later arrested at Dogolia, a nearby village, by community people who handed him over to the Kabala police station. His father was also arrested and they were helping with investigation, the crime officer confirmed.
In Sierra Leone the annual rate of firearm homicide per 100,000 population by any means was 14.9 in 2008, 2.40 in 2007, and 1.85 in 2006, according to a 2013 report by UN agency on drugs and crimes 2013.
“The estimated total number of guns (both licit and illicit) held by civilians in Sierra Leone is 34,000. The estimated rate of private gun ownership (both licit and illicit) in Sierra Leone is 0.61 firearms per 100 people. In a comparison of the number of privately owned guns in 178 countries, Sierra Leone ranked at No. 160. In a comparison of the rate of private gun ownership in 178 countries, Sierra Leone ranked at No. 164,” the report said.
(C) Politico 23/04/14
