This is according to Police Minister, Bheki Cele. Cele responded to a question asked by Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament, Andrew Grant Whitfield, about how many firearms that were handed in during the amnesty period were tested and linked to the commission of a crime.

The amnesty period kicked off on 1 December 2019 under the direction of Cele in an effort to reduce the number of illegal firearms in the country.

The minister revealed that a total of 7 170 firearms were tested through the IBIS, and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) linked 108 amnesty firearms to previously received ballistics cases. Cele added that only one amnesty firearm was linked to a previous case by means of ballistics. 

Adding to this, he further stated that no firearms which were handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) during the firearm amnesty have been destroyed.

According to News24, the SAPS received over 46 700 firearms during this amnesty period.

Meanwhile, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) unanimously approved another firearm amnesty period with the support of all nine provinces. The new amnesty period took effect on 1 August 2020 and is expected to end 31 January 2021.

OFM News