Murder rate falls, but Gun Free SA warns of gun violence

Gun-Free South Africa remains concerned over crime involving firearms, despite the latest crime stats showing a drop in the murder rate.

The organisation has welcomed the 8.7 percent decrease in murders in the third quarter of this financial year, compared to the last three months of 2024.

However, it has highlighted a major concern that guns accounted for almost 2561 deaths in that period.

Gun-free South Africa's Stanley Maphosa said a slight dip in the country's murder rate must not be mistaken for a turning point.
 
 "Gun-related violence remains high, and illegal firearms continue to drive that violence. Illegal guns do not come from nowhere..."

He says illegal firearms come from three sources.

"The first source is diversion from the civilian legal pool. The second source is leakage from state stockpiles, and the last one is cross-border trafficking."

Maphosa adds government and police should be doing more to disrupt the supply chain that allows guns to reach gangs.

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