RISE Mzansi appeals to police for more transparency with record of confiscated firearms

CAPE TOWN - RISE Mzansi is appealing to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for more transparency with its record of confiscated firearms.

It claimed that police officers have been implicated in the theft and resale of confiscated weapons.

According to police records, more than 300 police guns were reported as either stolen or lost in the six months from October 2023 to May 2024.

Executive director of Gun Free South Africa, Stanley Maphosa, said these firearms were often sold to criminals.

"Firstly, it leaks from the police and the army stockpiles because some of these weapons, the AK-47s, are still there in the police and the army stockpiles. So, they are leaking from there."

Maphosa said these guns were then used to terrorise communities.

"Over 2,400 police guns, including military grade rifles, were sold to the gangs. Some of these weapons have killed children on the Cape Flats. They have really brought trauma into those communities, and they continue to be used."