KZN has most weapons - premier

2005-03-22 22:50

Dries Liebenberg

Durban - The discovery of a large amount of arms and ammunition in the Midlands on Monday was proof that KwaZulu-Natal was the most highly armed province in the country, said the premier's office.

While the national police chief, commissioner Jackie Selebi, is constantly updated on developments, a police team in KwaZulu-Natal will try to find the origin of the arms and ammunition and if there are other caches.

Police went to investigate what looked like a shallow grave in a plantation in the Boston area near Bulwer on Monday afternoon and discovered the arms and ammunition instead of a body, said director Bala Naidoo.

A mortar bomb, 17 rifle grenades, 43 hand grenades, three smoke grenades, a flare, an anti-personnel mine as well as 478 9mm bullets, two bullet belts for a light machine gun, 241 7.62mm bullets, 1 640 R-1 bullets and 24 magazines for rifles were dug up.

Seven tons of weapons found

Although the ammunition and hand grenades were fairly weather-beaten, the soil had been disturbed recently and there had been no attempt to protect the arms, said Naidoo.

The discovery is one of the biggest arms finds in the province since seven tons of weaponry were found at Nqutu in Zululand in 1999.

At the time, the arms cache was pointed out to the Scorpions by Philip Powell, a former Inkatha Freedom Party MP.

Colonel Eugene de Kock testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the apartheid government had supplied Powell with a total of 10 tons of arms in 1993 amid conflict between the IFP and the African National Congress.

The arms discovery at Boston comes amid "concern in police circles" that the amnesty on illegal firearms and ammunition in the province is not achieving the expected results.

Judicial commission of inquiry

Meanwhile, at President Thabo Mbeki's request, preparations are being made for a judicial commission of inquiry into the political violence in the province.

An announcement to this effect is expected to be made in the Government Gazette next month.

Radley Keys, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for safety and security, said on Tuesday there was no "holistic plan" to remove the illegal arms from the province's conflict years from circulation.

Velaphi Ndlovu of the IFP encouraged communities to point out illegal firearms before the amnesty period expired at the end of this month.

- Beeld