Lost state firearms show lack of accountability - expert
Security and crime expert Willem Els has accused the South African law enforcement agencies of lacking accountability over the ongoing issue of lost firearms.
He emphasised that law enforcement officers who lose firearms should face the full might of the law.
His remarks come after Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed to the that a total of 357 firearms, that were stored as police evidence countrywide, have been stolen since the 2020/2021 financial year.
The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services as well as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans revealed that 71 state firearms disappeared from the South African National Defence Force and the Department of Correctional Services, respectively.
The ministers were responding to questions raised by Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald in Parliament in November.
So far only six private persons have been arrested in connection to with the lost firearms.
Els says there is a high demand for firearms from criminal elements in South Africa.
"Majority of these crimes are being perpetrated by people using illegal firearms. We should look at new strategies, accountability, political will and we currently see that lacking.
"Firearms are in a high demand in South Africa by the criminal sector, because of the use of firearms and the high levels of force that is being used in the crimes committed in South Africa."
ALSO READ
