4,124 South African Police guns lost or stolen

South Africa’s Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, revealed that 4,124 SAPS-owned firearms were reported as lost or stolen from 2020.

Cachalia shared this information during a Parliamentary question and answer session in response to a question from MK MP Wesley Douglas.

Douglas asked Cachalia whether he had ordered a national audit of the SA Police Service (SAPS) corruption that led to the loss of 7,500 state-issued firearms.

The Acting Minister of Police responded, saying there is no record of the 7,500 state-issued (SAPS) firearms in question.

“Available data records from 2019/2020 until current, indicate a total of 4 124 SAPS-owned firearms reported as lost or stolen,” he said.

The National Commissioner of the SAPS has established a working group to undertake a thorough verification process of all SAPS-owned firearms that were lost or stolen.

He added that after 2020, there are no active members linked to participating in the supply of SAPS-owned firearms to organised criminal networks.

Cachalia said the SA Police has committed to compiling a full report by 31 December 2025, for submission by 15 January 2026, about the issue.

The working group is using the SAPS Working Group on Official Losses Terms of Reference for this project.

It includes the confirmation and management of the physical loss of the SAPS-owned firearm, as well as conducting criminal investigations into the circumstances.

They will also consider departmental investigations, in accordance with the SAPS’ Discipline Regulations, 2016, related to the criminal investigation.

Another consideration is the reporting on the recovery of SAPS-owned firearms that have been lost or stolen, as well as the circulation of these firearms.

South Africa has a serious gun problem

Last year, Groundup reported that an estimated 1,800 state-owned firearms are being lost or stolen every year.

These guns enter the illicit market and find their way into the hands of criminals, which is fueling the crime wave.

It highlighted that 502 state institutions own 2.2 million firearms. The SA Police and Defence Force own less than 30% of them.

The only state institution to partially report how many firearms they lose per year, are the South African Police.

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime researcher Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane said the situation was shocking.

The SANDF and other state entities were supposed to report their firearm losses and thefts to the Central Firearms Registry. However, they do not do so.

She said that analysis by the Civilian Secretariat for Police concluded that the total loss of firearms was 18,000 over ten years.

Meanwhile, the average number of firearm-related murders in South Africa has risen from 23 per day in the 2021/22 financial year, to 34.

Illegal firearms entering South Africa from across the borders has decreased, and “a far more concerning factor is the domestic sources”, said Irish-Qhobosheane.