Ivor Powell
Four South Africans will be the victims of gun-related crime for every single Zambian victim. And well more than 20 South Africans will be shot dead every time a Botswanan dies from gunshot wounds.
These are among the chilling consequences of South Africa’s existing gun laws, argues independent researcher Katharine McKenzie after investigating gun-control measures in 10 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
McKenzie found that gun laws in South Africa – despite the country’s image as the leader of the Southern African community – lag way behind enforcement measures in other SADC countries.
“South Africa allows people to own more guns than any other country. It’s also the country with the laxest controls. As the law stands, firearm licences never have to be renewed,” McKenzie said. “You only have to be 16 in South Africa, not old enough yet to vote or to drive, but old enough to shoot … and if the gun is to be used under adult supervision, firearms can be licensed to even younger kids.”
McKenzie’s report – commissioned by Gun Free South Africa – comes amid growing resistance on the part of gun-owners’ associations to draft legislation aimed at controlling the proliferation of guns in South Africa. The proposed new laws aim to compel all gun owners to reapply for gun licences and to limit the number of guns any person may own.
There are regional initiatives to clamp down on gun ownership, notably initiatives by SADC’s Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation.
According to McKenzie, SADC efforts are being undermined by South African realities. “The situation in South Africa is drawing criticism from the police chiefs,” she notes. “Not only are there more guns in South Africa than anywhere else, but South Africa is the only country that manufactures arms – and, moreover, the gun culture is much more entrenched here than anywhere else.
“In Tanzania, for instance, there are only two gun shops in the whole country. In Mozambique, there are none. The role of South Africa needs to be looked into.”
One of the case studies highlighted by Mckenzie is that of Botswana, where, with a population of just more than 1,5-million, only 217 murders were recorded in 1997. South Africa’s national average stands at about 12 000 firearm-related murders per year.
Botswana has the toughest gun control laws in the SADC region, with 29 000 firearms licensed to private citizens and only a proportion of law enforcement and security personnel allowed to carry firearms in public. Each year 400 shotgun and rifle licences are given out for hunting – decided by a public raffle system in which the winners are given gun licences.
In Mozambique only one gun is permitted per licencee. In addition to this, only 6.67 mm handguns are licensed, the argument being that larger-calibre weapons are weapons of war.
In South Africa, legislation dating back to 1969 (though subsequently amended on various occasions) disqualifies only those with criminal and psychiatric records from licencing firearms – and permits any one person to own up to 12 guns.
The situation in South Africa remains alarmingly anarchic, with nearly 30 000 handguns being reported stolen and around 8 500 being stolen from the police and the defence force each year, according to the Institute for Security Studies. Only 1 764 stolen firearms were recovered in 1998.
The countries surveyed by McKenzie were South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia.