The National Police have embarked on a nationwide drive to sensitize the public to voluntarily surrender any illegal weapons.

The campaign was announced yesterday by Police Spokesman, Eric Kayiranga, during an interview with The New Times.

"We already have a law against illegal possession of firearms that came into force in November 2009. We have since issued a six-month grace period for everybody to voluntarily surrender any ammunition that they may be possessing illegally,” Kayiranga said.

He hastened to add that so far, some residents have already responded positively which has led to the recovery of some of these weapons.

"In accordance with the legislation, people who voluntarily hand in arms and ammunition within these six months will not face prosecution”.

According to the spokesman, most of the weapons ended up in public during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

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