SAPS firearms backlog in the Western Cape has left thousands of confiscated firearms unexamined, undermining criminal prosecutions and community safety, reports Cape {town} Etc.
A parliamentary reply shows SAPS seized 3104 firearms between 2023 and 2025. Only 466 have been linked to past criminal activity through the Integrated Ballistics Identification System and 2985 remained untested within the 90-day departmental timeline as of December 2025.
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Many confiscated weapons have no serial numbers, complicating tracing, and 58 firearms were reported stolen from state officials between 2023 and 2025, the DA said in a previous statement.
‘The safety of South African citizens is being jeopardised by the delays in testing,’ said Benedicta van Minnen, DA Western Cape spokesperson on police oversight and community safety.
City safety official JP Smith noted that Metro Police removed another firearm in Bellville South and asked: ‘Will this gun ever see the inside of a courtroom?'(Facebook)
The DA wants immediate funding to clear the backlog and calls on SAPS to accept practical assistance from local government so testing can be accelerated. The party said clearing the forensic queue is essential to securing convictions and removing repeat offenders from communities.
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