Scharnick faces charges for allegedly giving a firearm to a person not permitted to possess it and failing to notify the registrar of address change.
Stuart Scharnick appeared in Randurg Magistrate’s Court on firearms-related charges. Picture: X/@CrimeWatch_RSA
Stuart Scharnick has appeared in court for the second time this week on gun-related charges, but this time in KwaZulu-Natal.
The 40-year-old made his first appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. He faces charges relating to the alleged contravention of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.
Scharnick appeared in KZN two days after Randburg appearance
Scharnick’s appearance comes two days after he appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday. That appearance was also for gun-related charges and came after his dramatic arrest at the Madlanga commission last week.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said he faces charges for contravening Section 120(10)(a) of the Firearms Control Act, which relates to allegedly giving possession of a firearm to a person who is not legally permitted to possess it and contravening Section 25 of the Act, which relates to the alleged failure to notify the Registrar of Firearms of a change of address where the firearm is kept.
NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the matter was postponed to 2 September for the consideration of bail.
In the Randburg Magistrate’s Court matter, suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s ally faced charges of contravention of section 25 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 for allegedly failing to notify the Central Firearms Registry of his change of address; contravention of section 120(10)(a) of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 for allegedly unlawfully giving possession of the firearm to another person by allowing that person access to the firearm safe keys; and contravention of section 120(8)(a) of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 for allegedly storing a firearm in a safe that does not comply with the requirements prescribed by the Act.
The charges came after he was dramatically arrested on Thursday, 20 August, outside the Brigitte Mabandla College in Pretoria after a Sowetan journalist opened a case of intimidation.
After the incident, the South African Police Service (Saps) investigated compliance with firearm storage and registration requirements.
Bail applications
The NPA alleges the police visited Scharnick’s Douglasdale address to inspect his firearms. They found he had moved without notifying the Central Firearms Registry as required by the law.
At his partner’s residence, where he had relocated, officers alleged they found one firearm not stored in a prescribed safe in contravention of the Firearms Control Act.
The Randburg Magistrate’s Court postponed the case to 1 September for a formal bail application.
Meanwhile, Madlanga commission witnesses have mentioned Scharnick in earlier proceedings.
Last year, KwaZulu-Natal police alleged that a Saps employee manipulated the criminal records system to hide Scharnick’s history of cases, including 10 motor vehicle thefts and eight carjackings, which were consolidated into a lenient plea of a five-year suspended sentence and R150 000 fines.
They also alleged that he improperly obtained five firearm licences for sporting purposes, despite his convictions.
