No commitment from government to prevent firearm theft in own ranks

9 January 2024

While there is immense pressure on lawful, private firearm ownership, government itself is a major source of firearms supply to criminals and is failing to address the matter with the seriousness it deserves.

This is evident from replies to questions posed by the leader of the FF Plus, Dr Pieter Groenewald, to the Ministers of Defence and Military Veterans, Police as well as Justice and Correctional Services about, among other things, state firearms that have been lost or stolen. 

What stands out in the replies is the light penalties imposed on members of these departments for the loss and/or theft of firearms and ammunition.

In some cases, guilty members were fined a single month's salary or given only a written warning, which will clearly not serve as an effective deterrent.

It also appears that there are serious delays in investigations and prosecuting members, which reinforces the impression that there is no real commitment to putting an end to firearm theft.

In addition, the Department of Defence's preventative measures are mainly focused on repairing broken fences and intensifying fence security.

It will do very little to prevent the theft and loss of firearms and ammunition from within the Department itself.

This situation links closely with the events surrounding the former police Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo who was found guilty of having stolen firearms in police possession and selling it to gangs.

According to media reports, Prinsloo served a mere three years and ten months of an eighteen-year sentence.

Questions regarding crimes committed with the stolen firearms posed by the FF Plus to the Minister of Police were not answered seeing as the information forms part of a class action brought against the police by victims' next of kin.

The case has been dragging on since early last year. What can, however, be gleaned from media reports is that by 2016, some of the 2 000 stolen firearms had been linked to the deaths of 89 children while another 170 children were wounded by them.

The FF Plus will request that the information be disclosed as soon as the class action has been finalised.

Between the 2019 financial year and the end of last year, 42 firearms were stolen from the Defence Force. What is particularly alarming is that 33 of them are R4 and R1 assault rifles. More than 3 000 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles were also stolen.

The other stolen firearms were mostly handguns along with approximately 3 000 rounds of ammunition.

Only five Defence Force members were successfully charged. The rest of the cases remain unfinalized and prosecution was not instituted.

There have been 19 incidents at Justice and Correctional Services between the 2019 financial year and the end of last year in which 18 handguns and 295 rounds of ammunition were either stolen or lost.

Two members were dismissed. The rest were given warnings or forfeited, at most, one month's salary. Preventative steps include monthly inspections and surrendering firearms on a daily basis.

The aforementioned information makes it clear that this is a big problem while the steps taken, prosecution and prevention are all small-scale. Meanwhile, there is a steady stream of dangerous firearms from the state ending up in criminals' hands.

The situation can be turned around quickly if government would just tackle it with the same zeal as it demonstrates in its efforts to criminalise lawful, private firearm ownership.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 9 January 2024