The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa, 1994 - 2004 The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa, 1994-2004 Margaret Keegan Gun Free South Africa Commissioned and Funded by Oxfam Canada 30 April 2005 1 The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa, 1994 - 2004 This document is the intellectual property of Gun Free South Africa, which retains all rights to copying and reproducing any of its contents. National Office Western Cape Office Kwazulu/Natal Office PO Box 31532 PO Box 12988 Mowbray Kwazulu/Natal Office: Braamfontein 2017 7700 PO 217 Durban 4000 (011) 403 4590 (021) 686 1302 (033) 342 6880; gfsa- [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 2 The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa, 1994 - 2004 The Proliferation of Small Arms in South Africa, 1994 - 2004 Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................5 Executive Summary.....................................................................................................7 Abbreviations ...............................................................................................................9 Preface.........................................................................................................................11 Introduction................................................................................................................13 1 The South African Background....................................................................15 1.1 Political violence in the lead up to the 1994 elections.................................15 1.2 The violent legacy........................................................................................16 1.3 Changing patterns of violence .....................................................................18 1.3.1 Political violence in the post-independence period .............................18 1.4 Growth of violent crime...............................................................................20 1.4.1 Ex-combatants and former members of SDUs and SPUs....................21 1.4.2 Organised crime...................................................................................22 1.4.3 Gangs ...................................................................................................23 1.4.4 Common crime.....................................................................................24 1.4.5 Transformation and the criminal justice system ..................................25 2 The Proliferation of Guns in South Africa ..................................................27 2.1 Increased ownership.....................................................................................27 2.2 Increased handling .......................................................................................27 2.3 The Nature of demand .................................................................................28 2.3.1 The South African legacy ....................................................................28 2.3.2 Collection and aesthetic appreciation ..................................................28 2.3.3 Guns and the South African male identity...........................................29 2.3.4 Political uncertainty .............................................................................30 2.3.5 The growth in crime.............................................................................31 2.3.6 Common man’s response.....................................................................33 2.3.7 General trends ......................................................................................34 3 The Supply: South African Commercial Firearm Production..................35 3.1 ‘De-commissioning’ ....................................................................................36 3.1.1 The restructuring ARMSCOR .............................................................36 3.1.2 Defence cuts.........................................................................................37 3.1.3 The removal of state supports..............................................................37 3.1.4 The opening of the global economy.....................................................39 3.2 Private companies ........................................................................................49 3.2.1 Withdrawals .........................................................................................49 3.2.2 Survival................................................................................................52 3.2.3 Reflections on South African commercial gun production..................54 3.3 The growing competition of imported firearms...........................................55 3.3.1 The influx of international small arms.................................................55 3.3.2 The concentration of import and distribution rights ............................57 3.3.3 Surplus military stock..........................................................................58 3.3.4 Reflections on the lifting of the arms embargo....................................58 3 The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa, 1994 - 2004 4 The Supply: Illegal Guns...............................................................................61 4.1 The global trade in illegal arms ...................................................................61 4.2 Illegal guns in South Africa .........................................................................61 4.3 External sources...........................................................................................63 4.3.1 Arms caches: Regional warfare ...........................................................63 4.3.2 Arms caches: Mozambique..................................................................64 4.3.3 Border challenges and major contraband routes..................................65 4.3.4 Arms smuggling from Mozambique....................................................66 4.3.5 Operation Rachel.................................................................................68 4.3.6 Arms caches: Angola ...........................................................................70 4.3.7 Zimbabwe ............................................................................................71 4.3.8 The problem of borders........................................................................71 4.4 Locally sourced weapons.............................................................................72 4.4.1 Arms caches and arms for resistance...................................................72 4.4.2 South African government sources......................................................77 4.5 Civilian firearms ..........................................................................................81 4.6 Access to illegal arms ..................................................................................82 5 The Impact......................................................................................................85 5.1 The prevalence of gun violence ...................................................................85 5.1.1 Guns in crime – the police statistics ....................................................85 5.1.2 Guns in murder – the public health evidence.......................................87 5.1.3 Gun-related injuries .............................................................................88 5.2 “Stockpile lethality”.....................................................................................88 5.2.1 Poverty and economic inequality.........................................................88 5.2.2 Violence, patriarchy and concepts of discipline and abuse .................89 5.2.3 Guns, domestic violence and domestic accidents................................92 5.2.4 Gun violence ‘on the streets’ ...............................................................94 5.2.5 Exposure to gun violence.....................................................................96 5.3 The impact on development.......................................................................104 6 South Africa’s Policy on Gun Control .......................................................107 6.1 The early years...........................................................................................107 6.2 Policy instruments for firearm control.......................................................108 6.3 The Firearms Control Act (No 6 of 2000) .................................................109 6.3.1 The background .................................................................................109 6.3.2 The provisions of the Firearms Control Act No. 60 of 2000.............110 6.3.3 The implementation of the Firearms Control Act..............................112 6.3.4 The impact of promulgation...............................................................114 6.4 Gun destruction..........................................................................................116 6.5 Additional measures...................................................................................117 7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................119 8 Recommendations........................................................................................121 9 Bibliography .................................................................................................123 4 The Proliferation of Firearms in South Africa,