It's time for accountability and action on South Africa's gun violence crisis

Daily Maverick

21-05-2025

In a country where 33 people are shot dead every single day, gun violence in South Africa has reached levels last seen in the late 1990s.
The statistics tell a devastating story: murders have surged by 62% and attempted murders by almost 50% over the past decade, with firearms now the weapon of choice in nearly half of all murders and almost 60% of all attempted murders, while organised crime, empowered by easy access to deadly weapons, flourishes.
Almost all the firearms used in South Africa's gun violence crisis are domestically sourced, originating from the state and civilians. Latest data show that civilians reported the loss/theft of 8,452 firearms in the 2023-24 financial year – this number includes 1,648 firearms that were lost/stolen from private security companies, while SAPS reported the loss/theft of 741 service firearms in this time.
A crisis of accountability
South Africa's gun violence crisis is playing out against a range of violations of our international commitments. As a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Untoc), the Southern African Development Community Firearms Protocol, the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and the Arms Trade Treaty, our government is legally committed to maintaining accurate, comprehensive records of firearms within our borders.
Yet South African authorities cannot answer a basic question: how many guns are in our country? The Central Firearms Registry (CFR) produces contradictory reports, even for the same year.
Our government has further demonstrated its lack of commitment by downgrading its participation in international mechanisms meant to combat these problems. The Untoc review process – a crucial international accountability mechanism – has been outsourced to a junior official, while South Africa hasn't submitted required reports under the UN Small Arms Programme of Action since 2014.
The deadly consequences
The connection between this record-keeping failure and gun-related violence is clear. Firearms are both enablers and multipliers of violent crime. They were used in 42% of murders and 58% of attempted murders in periods where data were available.
With guns increasingly becoming the weapon of choice for criminals, our government's inability to track and control firearms represents a profound national security failure.
The infamous case of police Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo illustrates the deadly serious consequences. As custodian of a police armoury, Prinsloo stole 2,000+ firearms marked for destruction and sold them to organised crime groups, feeding violence across communities.
In Prinsloo's initial statement to his lawyer, he described how firearms were 'removed from the police computer' before being sold to criminals. Gun Free South Africa's Prinsloo Guns Class Action, instituted on behalf of affected families, is an attempt to get justice by holding the state accountable for failing to safeguard its weapons.
A path forward
South Africa doesn't lack solutions—it lacks implementation. Here's what must happen:
First, we must tighten controls over licensed firearms held by the state and civilians to prevent leakage and criminal use. This includes urgently repairing our broken Central Firearms Registry, because without accurate information on who owns what firearms for which purpose, all other interventions will fail. This requires both technical upgrades and a cultural shift within the institution, which may require a frank discussion about outsourcing (not privatising) functions.
Second, we need to focus on enforcing current firearm-related laws and addressing legislative loopholes that are being exploited. The recently published draft regulations to strengthen controls over private security company firearms is a step forward, but we need an urgent amendment to the Firearms Control Act to align it with legal and constitutional developments in South Africa, as well as our global commitments under conventions like the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime's Firearms Protocol.
In addition to tightening controls over licensed guns to stop leakage into the illegal pool and criminal use, government must prioritise recovering illegal guns already in circulation. The failure of government's flagship crime-prevention operation Shanela – which uses a broad stop-and-search approach – is evident from firearm recovery numbers, which show marginal increases.
Thus, a third urgent action is for government to embrace an intelligence-led approach to gun recovery that includes tracking the origin of reclaimed firearms to close leakage loopholes.
Fourth, a national firearms amnesty is essential. Unlike previous amnesties in South Africa, this must implement a 'no questions asked' approach, where the focus is on bringing unlicensed guns back under legal control by encouraging owners to either surrender guns for destruction or, in the case of expired licences, apply for a new licence (as an expired licence cannot be renewed).
Finally, civil society must be embraced as an ally by the state because it is here that trust is built around sensitive issues, which include gun ownership.
Understanding of and respect for the responsibility of owning a gun, including complying with the law around registration, licensing and use, is shaped by culture and community. These relate to issues of power, safety, security, respect and responsibility, which demand a community-based approach.
In this respect, civil society must be treated by government as a critical friend (as described by a panellist at the Constructive Dialogue on Firearms in Vienna on 30 April 2025) that plays a key role in promoting and supporting responsible gun ownership, while also providing independent and useful insight and analysis on gun ownership, use and trafficking.
A matter of political will
South Africa's gun violence crisis is ultimately a test of political will: Does our government have the courage to confront a small but vocal minority who are vehemently opposed to any gun control interventions?
South Africa's own experience is a guide to what needs to be done: Between 2000 and 2010, South Africa's gun death rate halved from 34 to 18 people shot dead a day through a range of gun control interventions, including a focus on recordkeeping, passing and implementing stricter gun legislation, holding a national firearms amnesty, using intelligence to recover firearms and involving civil society as a critical friend.
In addition, international frameworks and knowledge exist and can be drawn upon. What's missing is determined implementation and accountability.