AfriForum’s legal team directed a letter on 3 February 2021 to Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that firearm owners were turned away at police stations during the lockdown period. AfriForum pertinently requested the Minister to strongly consider putting another amnesty period before Parliament.
This follows the expiry of the amnesty period on 31 January. Many police stations from across the country were last week characterised by long queues of firearm owners who wanted to use the amnesty period. There were many stories of and complaints that only a certain number of applications were taken in per day. The rest were allegedly turned away, despite the fact that Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi ordered all provincial commissioners on 20 January 2021 to ensure that all police stations under their control adhere to various changes. These changes comprised the allocation of additional members to the firearms department, as well as to take in all applications and firearms until 21:00, including over the weekend.
People with among others expired firearm licences who now are now in unlawful possession of their firearms find themselves in a fix because they can no longer hand these in at police stations or store these elsewhere without incurring the risk to be prosecuted. AfriForum requests the Minister in its letter to confirm whether people in these positions will not be prosecuted, pending the application for a further amnesty period or outcome.
“AfriForum is inundated with calls from members who tell us that they have been waiting in queues for hours on end simply to be turned away. With 2020’s hardships and fear of COVID-19, you can understand why so many citizens did not consider the amnesty period a priority. It is mostly older people, however, who suffered and now live in fear because they can no longer use the amnesty period,” says Marnus Kamfer, AfriForum’s Legal and Risk Manager for Community Safety.