Gun Free SA sues SAPS over ‘negligence that facilitated guns to gangs syndicate’

Gun Free SA has launched a class-action lawsuit against the police on behalf of families whose loved ones were shot dead and injured by guns that SAPS had earmarked for destruction.  

The NGO briefed the media on the litigation at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Former police colonel Christiaan Prinsloo, who was the commander of the Gauteng firearms, liquor, and second-hand goods department, confessed to smuggling confiscated firearms in police custody, and those weapons surrendered by owners for destruction. The weapons ended up in the hands of criminals and gangsters.

In 2016, Prinsloo was handed an 18-year jail sentence for a slew of charges including corruption, racketeering and theft after entering a plea and sentencing agreement with the state.  The case against his alleged accomplices — firearms dealer Alan Raves and businessman Irshaad Laher, who is accused of selling stolen guns to gangs — is pending.  

Gun Free SA director Adéle Kirsten said Prinsloo and another senior SAPS Col David Naidoo stole and distributed more than 2,000 guns that were held in police stores waiting for destruction, to gang leaders on the Cape Flats between 2007 and 2015.   

“SAPS records show that as of 2016, Prinsloo guns killed 1,066 people, 67 of whom were children, while thousands more were injured [by the same guns],” said Kirsten.  

Kirsten said 888 of the guns stolen by Prinsloo were forensically linked to murders in the Western Cape between February 2010 and June 5 2016. She said 187 children between the ages of one and 17 were shot between February 2010 and December 2015 with guns stolen by Prinsloo. Of the more than 2,000 guns Prinsloo admitted to stealing, more than 1,000 are still missing, Kirsten said.  

Gun Free SA filed its application in the high court in Cape Town on Tuesday. The first leg of the litigation is “to apply for certification of a class action against the police to claim for damages resulting from the theft and supply of guns in police stores by criminals by two senior police members”.   

“Gun Free SA argues that SAPS is at fault for failing to uphold its constitutional, statutory, and international obligations, which allowed Prinsloo and Naidoo to steal and distribute guns and ammunition undetected and for years,” said Kirsten.  

“SAPS’ reports, which are based on forensic data, show that between 2007 and June 2016, Prinsloo guns were used in the commitment of at least 2,784 crimes in the Western Cape alone. This includes 1,066 murders, 1,403 attempted murders and 315 other crimes.

“SAPS reports further show that as of 2016, as many as 1,012 Prinsloo firearms were still in circulation, and are likely killing and injuring further victims. Consequently, Gun Free SA argues that the class-action must include victims of Prinsloo’s guns dating from 2007 until the present day.” 

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