Gun amnesty deadline looms
2005-06-29 12:41
Cape Town - The firearms amnesty in effect since January 1 will end at midnight on Thursday, Safety and Security Minister Charles Ngakula said in Pretoria on Wednesday.
"By tomorrow night the amnesty period will come to an end. Once again we would like to appeal to those who are in possession of illegal firearms or ammunition to hand over these to the nearest police station," he said
He warned that those who did not take advantage of the amnesty would face "the full might of the law".
Briefing reporters on progress made by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, Ngakula said more than 80 000 firearms had been handed into authorities around the country since the start of the amnesty.
He said 35 657 legal firearms and 25 066 illegal firearms had been handed over. A further 13 224 weapons were confiscated by the police and 7 890 firearms were destroyed.
He said a total of 1 251 843 rounds of ammunition had also been collected.
Describing the amnesty as "successful", Ngakula said: "When we talk about 80 000 firearms that have been taken out of circulation we mean many lives of our people have been saved."
He said that during the 2003/2004 financial year firearms had been responsible for 10 000 of the 18 000 people killed.
"Our operations to seize illegal firearms and ammunition will continue to intensify," he said.
- SAPA