Eastern Cape firearms owners under siege: AfriForum steps in
18 October 2024
AfriForum welcomes the ruling of the Supreme Court in Pretoria which, among other things, ordered the South African Police Service (SAPD) to immediately return the firearms of one of this civil rights organisation’s members to him.
This follows after approximately 1 700 unsuspecting members of the public received firearms proficiency training at Karen Webb in Gqeberha. Webb is believed to be involved in several crimes. Due to the investigation against Webb, among other things, an AfriForum member’s firearms were seized. AfriForum’s legal team assisted this member, Jacques Verwey in this successful court application. AfriForum believes that the law should take its course concerning Webb, but that innocent citizens should not be deprived of their firearms randomly and without good reason.
According to AfriForum’s Legal and Risk Manager, Marnus Kamfer, it is shocking that the police members involved do not apply basic administrative legal concepts. “It is a well-established legal position that a decision, such as granting a licence, stands until a proper legal process sets it aside,” says Kamfer. “The police officers cannot unilaterally just express an opinion that the persons may not possess firearms. The action goes against basic constitutional principles and the rule of law.”
The court ruled that even in circumstances where a person would voluntarily hand in his firearms after obtaining false information from the police, the police still need a legal basis to be allowed to receive and keep the firearms.
“It is shocking that taxpayers’ money was wasted to oppose the case. In court, the police’s lawyers had to admit that there is no legal basis for keeping the weapons under circumstances where they did not want to charge Verwey with a crime,” adds Kamfer.
AfriForum will now send a letter – which contains the court order as an attachment – to, among others, the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu and the National Commissioner of SAPS, Gen. Fannie Masemola, together with the local police offices to urgently ensure that the firearms of all the affected persons, who were legally in possession of them, are returned. After all, the court also found in the judgment that Verwey’s licenses are still valid.
If the letter is not responded to as desired, AfriForum will make its legal team available to the other affected members of the public to approach the court in a similar way. It would cost the state a lot of money if all the affected persons were to approach the court in this manner.
The court ordered that the relevant police respondents, which include the station commander on Paterson, Constable Yija and Sergeant Van Rensburg, must pay the legal costs of the application.
Issued by Marnus Kamfer, Legal and Risk Manager, AfriForum, 18 October 2024
