Gun dealers take cops to court over registry chaos

The status of the troubled Central Firearms Registry and a proposed electronic connectivity system linking police and firearms industry bodies will come under scrutiny in the Pretoria high court this week.

Attorney Martin Hood, representing the South African Arms and Ammunition Dealers’ Association, said the organisation approached the court after the South African Police Service (SAPS) failed to implement an electronic system for the registration of all firearms in the country despite a 2019 court interdict ordering them to do so.

“Firearms dealers have been asking for this electronic system, and seven years on there’s still no implementation. SAPS are in breach of a court order, and now they will have to explain things to the high court,” Hood said.

At a case management meeting on Tuesday, police will be asked to explain why the electronic connectivity system has still not been built, despite the interdict requiring implementation by 2023, and why a R293m tender awarded late has yet to produce a functioning system.

The court battle comes as tensions continue to grow over proposed amendments to the Firearms Control Amendment Bill.

Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann said the company was “strongly opposed” to the proposed regulations and warned that the amendments could ultimately contribute to rising violent crime.

The cost is unaffordable; it will push demands underground, and it will serve as a barrier to entry for armed security officers who are paid more than security guards

—  Nikki Pretorius, International Firearm Training Academy CEO

Bartmann said the industry had not yet launched a legal challenge because the amendments remain in pre-parliamentary negotiations before the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) together with the police secretariat.

Hood said more than 200,000 objections had been submitted during the public participation process, indicating the proposed amendments were “unworkable in the minds of many”, with critics arguing that existing firearm laws were already sufficient but poorly enforced.

He said ongoing police corruption — currently being exposed at the Madlanga commission — and failures at the Central Firearms Registry resulted “in people dying and criminals walking away without a conviction”.

Nikki Pretorius, CEO of the International Firearm Training Academy, said stricter controls could drive gun ownership underground and push both civilians and security companies towards illegal firearm ownership.

She said the proposed regulations would dramatically increase training requirements, extending mandatory civilian firearm training from one-and-a-half days to five days, while security guard training could stretch from five days to three weeks or more.

“The cost is unaffordable; it will push demands underground, and it will serve as a barrier to entry for armed security officers who are paid more than security guards,” Pretorius said.

But Stanley Maphosa, director of Gun Free South Africa, said his organisation welcomed stronger legislation, particularly within the private security sector, which he said was now four times larger than the police service.

“Murder has risen 62% over the past decade and attempted murder is up 67%, and at the same time the security industry has increased by 41%,” he said.

“Over 30 people are shot dead every day in South Africa. These regulations have real potential to change that by limiting access to firearms and improving oversight. Fewer guns in circulation mean fewer opportunities for misuse.”

The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority acknowledged the sharply divided response to the draft amendments and welcomed further engagement.

It said the regulations remained at the proposal stage and should serve “as an invitation to have a dialogue with all affected stakeholders in order to create a regulatory framework that is fair but also fit for purpose”.

Sunday Times