Bheki Cele has finally outright admitted that he wants civilian firearm ownership banned.
Speaking about amendments to the Firearms Control Act at a media briefing in Linden on 14 January, Cele stated that “One thing we are trying to put there, is that individuals should not have firearms.”
He then continued, “One funny thing about the present Firearms Act is that it allows individuals in South Africa to have an unlimited number of firearms, and definitely the incoming act can’t allow that.”
To summarise – in short, our Minister of Police wants all citizens disarmed in the 9th most homicidal nation on Earth.
In short, our Minister of Police wants all citizens disarmed in the 9th most homicidal nation on Earth.
Out of the eight nations more murderous than us, one has an outright ban on civilian firearm ownership (Venezuela), four have de facto gun bans (El Salvador, Jamaica, Honduras, and Belize), and three have highly restrictive and draconian firearm laws (U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Lesotho).
Not a single one of the Top 10 Most Homicidal Countries on Earth has permissive or unrestrictive firearm legislation.
This is what we call a correlation. And one which Cele either wilfully ignores (because it doesn’t suit his agenda), or is ignorant of. The latter is a disgrace, as all the data is easily obtainable and in the public domain.
But then Bheki Cele has always been anti-gun. He nailed his colours to the mast early in 2018 already. And little, if anything, has changed since. His first year in office was riddled with failures and scandals, and he has yet to address a single key issue plaguing his ministry.
It is nothing short of astounding that the Minister of Police, under whose stewardship the SAPS faces crippling budget cuts and stands accused of such rampant corruption and criminality that the organisation can be considered all but criminally captured, is now suggesting complete civilian disarmament.
With this as background, let us remember that the National Commissioner of Police admitted to Parliament that it is “impossible” for the SAPS to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
The National Commissioner of Police admitted to Parliament that it is “impossible” for the SAPS to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
Thus, while the SAPS is falling to pieces and violent crime is spiralling ever upwards, the Minister would rather pursue a civilian gun ban than fix his department.
The fact that the SAPS has failed abysmally at providing safety and security to the citizens of the Republic appears entirely lost on Cele. Not only is his police failing at protecting citizens, he now insists that citizens shouldn’t be able to even protect themselves.
The tyrannical arrogance of this is, frankly, outrageous.
It is time for citizens to stand up and make their voices heard. If our President has even a shred of credibility left in his corpus, he will boot the disgraceful Bheki Cele from the Police Ministry with due haste.
The maxim of the South African Police Service is Batho Pele – “People First”.
Under the cancerous regime of Bheki Cele, it has become Batho Cele.
Written by Gideon Joubert
Gideon is the owner and editor of Paratus.
