Despite confiscating more than 1,670 illegal firearms since 2021, the City of Cape Town has reported that only 81 of these cases have led to convictions, exposing severe breakdowns in the criminal justice system.
At a safety briefing in Hanover Park, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis condemned the low conviction rate as a “systemic failure” in the justice process. He revealed that most cases collapse due to incomplete dockets, years-long delays for ballistic or DNA evidence, or outright rejection by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) due to insufficient evidence.
“Almost half of these cases are thrown out because prosecutors see little chance of success,” Hill-Lewis said. “The most frustrating part is that many of these violent offenders remain on our streets, even though our officers are doing their part to remove illegal weapons.”
Bottlenecks in the Justice System
A major obstacle, according to the city, is that municipal law enforcement lacks legal authority to investigate crimes or compile case dockets—a responsibility that falls solely on the South African Police Service (SAPS). Hill-Lewis is now urging the national government to amend the SAPS Act and grant investigative powers to city policing units to improve prosecution rates.
JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, added that some gun-related murder suspects from as far back as 2021 are still free because SAPS lacks the resources to build strong cases.
City Takes Action
To address these challenges, Cape Town has launched specialized training for officers in statement writing and is strengthening its Safety and Security Investigations Unit to support stronger prosecutions.
However, with thousands of illegal firearms still in circulation and cases dragging on for years, city officials warn that without urgent reforms, violent criminals will continue to evade justice—leaving communities at risk.