The Bainslvei Acting Station Commander, Martin Buffett, says legislation requires anyone who has such a firearm to hand it over for the preparation of its destruction. He says this is in line with the police management's intention and hopes to keep the streets of the province safe. He adds that this follows after national police minister, Bheki Cele, and the National Assembly earmarked 1 December to 31 May 2020 as an amnesty period. Buffett says the country has a highly significant number of unlicensed or illegal firearms circulating in the streets.

During the bail hearing of the alleged killer of Qeya Jonas Tshabalala at the Bloemfontein Local Magistrate’s Court, the prosecutor, Johan de Vries, raised a concern about the use of illegal firearms. He said Ramolete Masiu, who is an illegal Lesotho immigrant and also a suspect in the killing of Tshabalala, had easy access to these illegal firearms, was further connected to at least five different counts of crime, including robbery and attempted murder in Bloemsrpuit and Park Road.

De Vries also highlighted during the court appearance of the five accused of the Caleb Motshabi triple murders, that some amongst them had easy access to these illegal firearms which was used to kill two DA members, Molokwane Mokgoro and Godfrey Mbalula, and one Lesotho national execution-style in Dinaweng in 2018.

OFM News further reported that in the murder trial of slain City Med managing director, Louis Siemens, in the Bloemfontein High Court, that an illegal firearm with an extended magazine was used to kill him. Meanwhile, the firearm amnesty period will also allow hundreds of South Africans to renew their expired gun licenses. Spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said ballistic tests would be conducted on all surrendered firearms to verify if they were used in a crime. Themba said the country's fourth firearms amnesty was in the interest of the South African public.

OFM News