The Randburg Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 34-year-old Diepsloot shopkeeper to 10 years in jail after he had been found guilty of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Adivashi Bihar pleaded guilty to the two charges put forward by the state. In his statement that was read in court by his legal representative, Bihar told the court that he was arrested by police during a routine patrol in Diepsloot in November last year.
He mentioned that as police stopped him, he tried to run away as he knew that he had a gun in his possession and no licence or permit to hold it in accordance with the Firearms Control Act.
He said police officers found the 9mm pistol with three live rounds and they arrested him on the spot.
In his defence, the accused told the court that he had the gun for his own protection as Diepsloot is riddled with violent crimes. He also pointed out that shopkeepers are usually a target for criminals. This defence was totally rejected by the state prosecutor, Linda Dlamini, who told the court that there are proper channels that one needs to follow in order to own a gun for whatever reason.
The state prosecutor pleaded with the court to impose a sentence that will act as a deterrent to others who might want to own guns illegally. Troubling more about the said crime, the prosecutor said the court was inundated with murder cases that were unsolvable from Diepesloot, highlighting that illegal possession of guns is at the heart of the problem.
“As I speak, I have five murder dockets that I received from Dieplsoot and there are no suspects. Guns were used in all the cases.”
The defence attorney argued that the court should give the accused a suspended sentence as he is a first-time offender. The lawyer said the accused was earning an honest living and that he was a good candidate for a wholly suspended sentence.
Magistrate Theolopsy Leshabane sentenced the accused to 10 years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, on condition that the accused is not found guilty of the same offence. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of the Firearms Control Act.
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