18,000 Murders in SA This Year… Many Probably Killed by ‘Lost’ Police Firearms

With over 18,000 people murdered so far this year in South Africa, and a disclosure that almost 8,000 firearms were lost by police between 2009 and 2014, AfriForum says it will request an investigation into the police negligence of the handling of firearms “which is a big cause of violent crime in this country”.

In a statement issued Thursday, AfriForum said that according to information that Police Minister Fikile Mbalula provided to AfriForum, investigations indicate that lost and stolen police firearms are used in violent and serious crime.

The information further indicates that the police lost about 7,829 police firearms between 2009 and 2014.

These figures, however, do not include firearms that the South African Police Service (SAPS) should have kept in safekeeping and as evidence, but only reflect those in the police’s asset register. AfriForum also requested the former figures, but it was not provided.

According to Ian Cameron, AfriForum’s Head of Community Safety, the organisation is currently consulting with its legal team about further steps that can be taken to acquire this information.

“The announcement of these figures is in public interest and the fact that Minister Mbalula admits that lost and stolen police firearms are used in these types of crimes, confirms this.

“More than 18,000 people have already been murdered in the country this year and it is time that the government urgently intervenes,” says Cameron.

“With these figures, AfriForum is going to request the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to launch an investigation into the police’s negligent handling of firearms, which is a big cause of violent crime in the country,” says Hein Gonzales, Risk and Support Manager for Community Safety at AfriForum.

The judge also ordered that SAPS pay AfriForum’s legal costs at attorney/client scale.