By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Tracking and Tracing Task Team has seized 226 firearms from a registered private security company in Krugersdorp after uncovering serious contraventions of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act 60 of 2000).
The Act places strict obligations on licence holders to ensure safe storage, proper authorisation, and accountability for all firearms.
The National Tracking and Tracing Task Team has been conducting raids across Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga under Operation Buyisa.
The Task Team is a police tactical unit, part of the special operations element of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
SAPS National Spokesperson, Lt Colonel, Amanda Van Wyk says the operation took place over a couple of weeks.
Van Wyk says, “We have seized firearms in Krugersdorp, where the business premises is based and over 200 firearms are registered to this company. We also found two unlicensed firearms this led to the arrest of the responsible person. We also seized a rifle in Limpopo which we found in possession of an unauthorised individual.”
She added, “Several firearms have been linked to violent crimes, including cash-in-transit heists and attempted murders.”
The January-March 2025 crime statistics released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on 23 May show that while violent crime remains high, notable decreases occurred in key categories such as murder.
The long-term trend for murder rates (Chart 1) suggests a strong correlation between levels of good governance and crime. The sharp increase between 1979 and 1993 reflects political violence during the last decade of apartheid, much of which occurred with the complicity or involvement of the state. The rate peaked in 1993 at around 70 murders per 100 000 people.
The equally dramatic decrease between 1994 and 2011 was an expected consequence of settling political strife as South Africa adapted to a new democracy. The lowest rate on record in 2011 was associated with the 2010 Soccer World Cup – which united South Africans behind a government determined to host a safe international event.
The negative turnaround since then started two years after Jacob Zuma took office as president in 2009. Persistent increases over the next 13 years were associated with a weakening of state institutions and rule of law during state capture.
Corruption at all levels of government rose, and local criminal groups became embedded in many communities, leading to more illicit firearms, drugs, robberies, extortion and kidnapping. A 2024 Institute for Security Studies (ISS) analysis of firearm crime indicated that the availability of illegal guns in the hands of criminals fuelled violence.