Mozambique's December Deadline for Illegal Weapons: Last Chance to Surrender Before the State's “Heavy Hand”

Mozambique has a message for anyone holding an illegal firearm: hand it over by December, or the state will come and take it.

President Daniel Francisco Chapo issued the warning this week, announcing that the police amnesty programme known as "Operation Amnesty Two" will expire at the end of December. After that, authorities will move to coercive collection of all illegally held weapons 

The programme, launched by the Mozambican Republic Police (PRM), gives citizens a clear window to surrender unlicensed, expired, or otherwise irregular firearms without consequence.

"Nobody will be questioned, punished, or detained if they voluntarily surrender the weapons," Chapo said during a ceremony in Manhiça district, southern Maputo province .

The amnesty also covers weapons that were inherited, purchased informally, or found a recognition that many firearms circulate outside the formal registry through family lines and unofficial channels .

Police are also using the operation to inspect weapons held by individuals and companies with legal authorisation, update the national firearms registry, and destroy obsolete or illegal weapons permanently .

Chapo did not mince words about what happens after December.

"After the deadline, anyone found with a firearm in an irregular situation will feel the heavy hand of the Mozambican state," he warned .

The president framed the initiative as part of broader efforts to reduce crime and strengthen public safety, noting that crime has become increasingly complex from terrorism and organized crime to human trafficking, kidnappings, and cybercrime .

The circulation of illegal weapons poses a direct threat to public order and social stability in Mozambique, according to Police Commander-General Joaquim Sive, who launched the operation earlier this month in Inhambane .

Sive pointed to a constitutional principle: the state holds the monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Weapons circulating outside state control undermine that principle and endanger citizens' lives and property .

The timing is significant. Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province has been plagued by jihadist insurgents since 2017. While Chapo said the situation has improved in the past two years thanks to Mozambican forces and troops from Rwanda and Tanzania, a UN Special Rapporteur reported in August that attacks against civilians had actually increased in frequency and severity over the past year 

Ammunition flowing into the wrong hands whether insurgents, criminal networks, or ordinary citizens with inherited weapons complicates every dimension of the security challenge.

The amnesty runs through December 2026. After that, the PRM will begin enforcement operations to collect weapons by force.

This follows a similar campaign launched in September 2025, when police collected 160 illegal weapons across different regions and extended the deadline to mid-December, citing community cooperation as a key factor in the results achieved .