The Gun Owners of SA (Gosa) says if the SAP goes ahead with plans to seize 450 000 firearms and nearly 60m rounds of ammunition from civilian gun-owners whose licences have expired, it would be a 'matter of life or death'. Gosa has approached the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), reports Times Select, noting the urgent application to stop the planned seizures, in terms of the Firearms Control Act (FCA), will be heard on 17 July.

Gosa blames failures around the Central Firearms Registry, which houses all gun-owners' details, and police management's jackboot stance over late licensing renewals, for the crisis.

Gosa wants licences, which have been or will be issued in future, to be declared valid for life and for the court to order the police to provide a 'comprehensive and detailed security plan' on how it will ensure seized firearms and ammunition will be kept safe while in SAPS custody.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said the SAPS would respond.

'There is a law in place and we enforce that law.' In their papers, Gosa said it was a matter of 'life and death'. 'The affected people will be unable to defend their lives or those of others under their protection. Directives appear to be distributed by lower-ranking police members without the sanction of the national commissioner. The plans in those documents are full of holes relating to the safekeeping of the estimated 60m cartridges that go with the 450 000 firearms.' Gosa said the National Police Commissioner had indicated three police stations were disqualified from accepting firearms, 'and the implication is there may be more'. 'The reason for disqualification is because they have displayed inadequate security having been relieved of several firearms in their care by criminals.'

Full Times Select report

The SA Arms and Ammunition Dealers Association (Saaada) is also concerned, saying it had no confidence in the SAP's ability to confiscate and securely store the confiscated guns, notes TimesLIVE. The association described the recent Constitutional Court ruling which effectively deemed 400 000 people as illegal firearm owners, as a 'travesty of justice'. The court ruled that gun ownership was not a fundamental right under SA's Bill of Rights, but a privilege.

The association has resolved not to help with its enforcement, saying the ruling deprived many responsible gun owners of their property and the ability to protect themselves in a crime-ridden society. In June, the court upheld the constitutionality of regular firearm licences after an appeal by the Minister of Safety and Security, by dismissing a High Court order that had declared that two sections of the Firearms Control Act of 2000 were unconstitutional.

The ruling means gun owners with unlicensed firearms must surrender them to the police without compensation. The litigation, brought by the Hunters and Game Conservation Association in 2016, challenged sections 24 and 28 of the Firearms Control Act of 2000 which stipulated that gun owners were required to regularly renew their firearm licences. Under the act of 2000, gun owners who have not renewed their licences must forfeit their firearms to the state. On Monday, Saaada said it acknowledged the court's ruling in June as 'technically correct' but that the consequence was akin to one's motor car being confiscated because the licence had lapsed. 'Such a harsh penalty is inappropriate for simply failing to renew a licence in time, often with good reason.'

Full TimesLIVE report