Firearm amnesty: AfriForum welcomes breakthrough

4 March 2021

Owners of firearms of which the licences have expired, can breathe a sigh of relief after Bheki Cele, the Minister of Police, indicated in parliament yesterday that he will regard an application for a new amnesty period as “fair”.

AfriForum welcomes this decision, especially after the organisation’s legal team directed a letter to Cele on 3 February 2021, explaining the impact the lockdown had on the firearm amnesty period, as well as the fact that some firearm owners were turned away from police stations during this period.

The letter requests that no firearm owner in possession of an expired licence be prosecuted for the unlawful possession of a firearm, pending the application for a new amnesty period.

“AfriForum handles many requests from concerned firearm owners who weren’t able to make use of the firearm amnesty period, due to the hardships of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. These firearm owners are not criminals and in fact just want the opportunity to go through a process to get on the right side of the law,” says Marnus Kamfer, AfriForum’s Legal and Risk Manager for Community Safety.

“We will continue following up with the minister on a regular basis on when the application for the new amnesty period will be brought,” concludes Kamfer.

Issued by Carina Bester, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 4 March 2021