The South African Police Services Crime Registrar, General Norman Sekhukhune, has revealed that a single firearm has been connected to as many as 35 murders in South Africa, highlighting the movement of illegal firearms across provinces.
Sekhukhune made this statement during a seminar organised by the Institute for Security Studies ISS in Pretoria. The seminar focused on gun-related crime and policing.
Sekhukhune explained the issue, saying I use a firearm to eliminate person X. I borrow it from Lizette, I take it to Lizette, Lizette takes it to Bruce. Bruce goes and kills someone. So theres this movement of firearms where one firearm is moved from one place to the next doing this elimination. That is why you can find a situation where one firearm is linked to plus or minus 6 or 7 provinces.
The prevalence of illegal firearms has contributed to rising concerns about violent crime, with mass shootings in Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki and Orange Farm in Gauteng bringing the issue to the forefront.
Policing expert David Bruce noted that gun crimes are particularly concentrated in three provinces the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng, and emphasised that Mpumalanga is also seeing a rise in firearm-related crimes.
