The FF Plus takes note of the plea by Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, for more stringent firearm control, and requests him to start by focusing on the police and metro police that frequently misplace firearms.
Lesufi made the statement last Friday night after the death of the hip-hop star Kiernan AKA Forbes and his friend the well-known chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Matsoane.
The FF Plus has pointed out to the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela, numerous times that firearms submitted as evidence are often stolen from the police’s storerooms.
The same goes for firearms turned in at police stations while awaiting firearm licences. These firearms frequently end up in the hands of criminals.
In February 2022, 175 were stolen from the Norwood Police Station. Many of those firearms were later discovered at scenes of murder and robbery.
In the 2018/19 financial year in Gauteng, 124 police firearms were either stolen or lost, in the 2019/20 financial year, 133 and in the 2020/23 financial year, 104.
Lt Gen. Mawela and his seven generals need an urgent turnaround strategy.
Firearm legislation must be strictly enforced across the board and not only on the public.
Moreover, law-enforcement officers must have enough firearms, ammunition and vehicles at their disposal to perform their duty effectively.
In many cases, criminals have more and better firearms than police members.
It is time to launch a serious attack on crime to make Gauteng a crime-free province.
The FF Plus, however, doubts that the ANC has the political will to do that.
The people of Gauteng deserve better than the ANC.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Kobus Hoffman on FF Plus
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