Statement by Ian Cameron MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Police:
The Democratic Alliance reiterates our call for urgent accountability as the continued loss and theft of state-owned firearms fuels violent crime across the country.
More concerning is the scale of these failures. A DA parliamentary question revealed that a total of 170 SAPS-owned firearms were reported as lost or stolen from police armouries over the past five years.
These are not ordinary service pistols; they include high-powered, semi-automatic rifles such as R5s, which carry far greater destructive capacity and are frequently targeted by organised criminal networks.
Of the 170 firearms reported missing, only 16 have been recovered, leaving more than 150 state-owned weapons unaccounted for and likely circulating within criminal networks. These losses occur inside SAPS facilities, directly undermining public confidence in police firearm control systems.
A previous DA Parliamentary Question also revealed a shocking reality: over 3 400 SAPS firearms (service pistols) were lost or stolen between 2019 and 2024.
Only 559 have been recovered, meaning the vast majority remain in criminal hands.
While SAPS lists several internal controls, including stocktaking, inspections, and the use of SABS-compliant safes the persistent leakage of firearms shows these measures are either ineffective or not being properly implemented. The presence of state-issued firearms in the hands of criminals directly fuels South Africa’s violent crime crisis and demonstrates that state mismanagement not law-abiding gun owners, is the primary source of illegally circulating firearms.
Despite this, the Firearms Control Amendment Bill, if introduced, threatens to disarm responsible citizens and shift the balance of safety away from the public and towards arbitrary state control, without addressing the real drivers of crime.
The DA will oppose this Bill in Parliament and lead a nationwide campaign to stop it. We will mobilise communities, raise public awareness, and make it clear that law-abiding South Africans will not be punished for government failures.
Policy action should focus on SAPS reform, strengthening the Central Firearms Register, and holding criminal elements accountable not restricting the constitutional rights of responsible citizens.