Interior Minister announces reforms to tighten firearm licensing and registration

The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mubarak, has announced new measures aimed at strengthening regulation of firearm ownership in Ghana, including slowing the issuance of gun licences and introducing a digital registration system.

Speaking on the Hot Issues programme on TV3 Ghana on Sunday, March 15, 2026, the minister said the current firearm licensing process he inherited was overly simple and vulnerable to mistakes.

According to him, individuals seeking a gun licence previously only needed to write to the minister and undergo a background check before approval was granted.

“To address these shortcomings, we have intentionally slowed the issuance of licences while we review and strengthen the process,” he said.

Mubarak added that the ministry is also working to regulate firearm importers more strictly to prevent weapons from being brought into the country and sold openly, which he noted is against the law.

He cited incidents such as the fire outbreak at Kejetia Market, where shops were reportedly selling firearms in the open market.

Another aspect of the reforms involves requiring firearms to be stored in approved armouries or magazines where transactions can be monitored by the police.

“Even when a firearm is being sold, we must know who the buyer is. That level of tracking is necessary for accountability and public safety,” the minister said.

He also highlighted challenges with the current manual system used to manage firearm licences. Under existing regulations, licences must be renewed annually, but tracking renewals has been difficult because records are kept manually.

The minister explained that licences issued late in the year automatically expire on December 31, making compliance monitoring complicated and sometimes leading to inaccurate records.

Mubarak said moving to a digital system will help authorities maintain accurate data on firearm ownership and improve oversight.

He noted that the reforms are part of wider efforts by the Interior Ministry to strengthen control over firearms, prevent illegal sales and enhance public safety across the country.