Cap. 480 Art. 24Disqualification.

(1) A licence under this Act shall not be issued to a person who at any time during the five years immediately preceding the date of his application for a licence has:

(a) been convicted of:

(i) an offence involving violence or attempted or threatened violence against the person; or

(ii) an offence under this Act; or

(iii) an offence of bodily harm with an arms proper or other instrument or of taking up any arm proper or other instrument against other persons; or

(iv) an offence of theft; or

(v) an offence against the laws relating to the suppression of prostitution, white slave traffic or traffic of persons; or

(vi) an offence relating to trafficking in drugs; or

(vii) any other offence that the Minister may by regulation prescribe from time to time:

Provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in the Probation Act, for the purposes of this paragraph a person shall be deemed to have been convicted even if any of the provisions of the said Act may have been applied in his regard; or

(b) has a history of:

(i) drug dependence or abuse; or

(ii) of treatment for mental illness whether in a hospital, mental institute, psychiatric clinic or otherwise, and whether or not such person was confined to such a hospital, institute or clinic where such mental illness is associated with the of effective imprisonment, he shall not be entitled to apply for a licence in terms of this Act.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subarticle (1) a licence under this Act may be granted by special authority of the Minister in the circumstances provided in those subarticles: Provided further that for the purpose of this article, a hunting licence issued in terms of the Hunting Licences Regulations, shall be considered as a licence under this Act.