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More than 400 firearms have been reported either missing or stolen by Eastern Cape police over the past four financial years.
This is according to Community Safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, in response to questions from Democratic Alliance MPL, Yusuf Cassim.
According to MEC Nqatha’s reply, 410 firearms were either reported stolen or missing.
“Of these, 362 firearms were stolen, including 65 stolen directly from police stations and the remainder from SAPS officers. A further 48 firearms have been reported missing without a clear explanation.
“While some 232 of these weapons have since been recovered, the reality is that at least 130 firearms remain unaccounted for and are potentially circulating in the criminal underworld,” Cassim said.
He said among the firearms stolen or lost, were at least 164 Beretta pistols, 131 Vektor Z88 pistols, 26 Vektor R5 assault rifles, along with Musler shotguns, Walther pistols, FN rifles and Glock pistols.
“These are not small-calibre weapons. These are firearms designed for combat and law enforcement, now in criminal hands through sheer negligence and poor controls,” Cassim added.
He said more alarming, was that the SAPS’s response confirmed that it does not have a system in place to track whether any of these stolen or missing firearms have been used in the commission of a crime.
“The Provincial FLASH Office stated that there is no database available to draw such information from.”
Cassim said he would table a motion in the EC Legislature calling for a full audit and investigation into every single missing or stolen firearm, with disciplinary action against SAPS members where negligence is found.
“Furthermore, I will also call for the immediate establishment of a central, transparent firearm tracking database to link lost weapons to criminal incidents and for independent oversight of firearm storage and handling procedures within the SAPS,” he added.
