SAPS firearms stolen under Bheki Cele’s reign enough to equip a small army
11 January 2024
In a response to a parliamentary question, Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that SAPS has been steadily losing yet another war on crime since he came to power – the ever-increasing theft of official SAPS firearms.
In his response, which was months overdue and in violation of Rule 145(5)(a) of the Rules of Parliament, the Minister revealed that 1725 official SAPS firearms were stolen between April 2021 and July 2023. That amounts to 61 firearms stolen every single month over the last two and a half years.
The figures for the 2023/24 financial year look set to breach the 800 mark for the first time in over 10 years.
The fact that 1725 firearms have been stolen means that there are potentially up to 1725 more criminals in South Africa, or worse, have solidified gangs into small powerful armies, further exacerbating the fear most citizens already go to bed with at night.