ANC calls for a review of gun laws

The ruling party was outlining its gun control campaign following the murder of Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa in Vosloorus on 26 October, and the wounding of ANC MP Jackson Mthembu during a robbery in Witbank earlier this month.

In a series of tweets, the party noted the scourge of illegal firearms ending up in the wrong hands.

“What they [Meyiwa and Mthembu] had to contend with was the manifestation of what many innocent citizens of our country have to contend with in dealing with marauding gun-toting criminals who have no regard for human life,” @MyANC_ tweeted.

“The #ANC calls for the total removal of illegal guns from society as these have proved to be a menace. The time has come for us as a nation to review existing gun control measures with a view to limiting access to guns that end in wrong hands.”

The ruling party also called on the judiciary to show no mercy for those in possession of illegal guns and those who were guilty of negligence.

“Maximum sentences should be imposed as a deterrent against those in possession and those who use these guns to mow down other human beings,” it said in another tweet.

Meanwhile, an unlicensed, police-issued R5 rifle was retrieved from the scene of a shootout between suspects an police on the N1 north on 30 October.

According to police the rifle did not have a serial number.