Firearm Amnesty declared by SAPS
NIGEL/HEIDELBERG - In a bid to turn the tide, save innocent lives and cease the proliferation of illegal firearms in the country, police minister Bheki Cele has called on South Africans in possession of a firearm to make use of the upcoming amnesty and help make SA safer.
The 2019/20 Firearm Amnesty commenced on December 1 and will be valid until May 31. The six month period will afford South Africans an opportunity to surrender illegal/unwanted firearms, ammunition and/or firearm parts to help clear illegal guns from the streets.
Cele stressed that the police are strengthening its capacity to recover unlawful weapons.
“We have started already. Over the past two months we have found about 2 000 firearms,” minister Cele said during a media briefing on November 28.
While the focus of the amnesty is on recovering illegal firearms, minister Cele explained that a large number of illegal weapons were initially lawfully owned. He added that up to 450 000 firearms that were legally owned are now unlawful after the licences expired.
While it is unclear how many illegal firearms are in SA, lobby group Gun Free SA estimates that there are about 4,5-million legal weapons in the country, of which close to 27 are lost or stolen every day.
* What are the objectives behind the firearm amnesty?
To reduce the number of illegally owned firearms in circulation in South Africa; to provide firearm owners with the opportunity to hand in unwanted firearms; to prevent crime and violence and to promote safety; to address the fundamental causes of crime in order to effectively protect our communities; to ensure people living in South Africa feel safe and have no fear of crime.
In terms of section 139(4)(a) of the Firearm Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000) a person who surrenders a firearm in compliance with a notice published in terms of subsection 1 may apply in terms of this Act for a licence in respect of that firearm.
An application contemplated in section 139(4) (a) shall not apply to illegal firearms where documentary proof of previous ownership cannot be produced.
The amnesty (pardon) would grant indemnity to a person who surrenders illegal firearms or ammunition against prosecution only for the unlawful possession of such.
South Africans are urged to join the minister and the national commissioner in their efforts to create a South Africa that is safe for all by ensuring an effective implementation of the Firearm Amnesty process.
