Minister asks court not to find sections of Firearms Control Act unconstitutional
On Wednesday, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula asked the Constitutional Court not to confirm that two sections in the Firearms Control Act were unconstitutional. The sections‚ if declared unconstitutional‚ would disrupt the police’s goal of regulating firearm ownership by requiring that each firearm owner is the holder of a licence, which expires after a certain period. Before the Firearms Control Act of 2000‚ a licence to possess a firearm lasted for life. The 2000 legislation changed all that, requiring each person wishing to own a firearm to be licensed to do so, and that each firearm be licensed. The new Act also required that a competency certificate‚ which shows that a person is fit and proper to possess a firearm‚ be obtained and that it expire after a certain period. The constitutional challenge in the High Court in Pretoria was brought by the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association. It followed an instruction in February 2016 by then acting national police com...
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