Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
13 May 2023 | 13:46 CAT

Image: Google

Gunfree South Africa has launched a class suit against the SAPS for negligence. GFSA affected families, and Norton Rose Fulbright law firm, which with Wim Trengove and Riaz Itzkin, has taken the case pro-bono, held a briefing at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation to mark the first achievement in the Prinsloo Guns class action.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Gunfree South Africa’s Adele Kirsten said one primary aim is to provide financial relief for the families who are victims of the Prinsloo guns.

According to Kristen, for many of the families, financial aid will bring some closure and justice for them.

“Financial relief would mean that the state acknowledges that it was liable and that is accountable for what happened to these families and is the long-term outcome Gunfree hopes for in bringing the class action,” she says.

The matter concerns two former police Colonels, David Naidoo and Christiaan Prinsloo. In his, please bargain, Prinsloo’s statement to the courts states that between 2008 and 2015/6, they have stolen 2000+ illegal guns and distributed them into criminal hands, primarily in the Western Cape.

Meanwhile, according to Kristen, the project MP was a SAPS intelligence operation, and it was discovered that the guns were altered similarly, signalling a syndicate or organized crime venture.

She said the MP operation revealed the name of 261 people who were shot by the ‘Prinsloo guns’. Gunfree South Africa got that list in 2017, which provides the person’s name, age, gender and the station where the case is logged. One hundred eighty-seven of these were children, and 67 of them were killed. One hundred of the illegal guns were not recovered; there are no reports and appears to be very little evidence that SAPS is prioritizing the recovery of the guns.

Listen to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie on Your World Today.