By 
BLOEMFONTEIN — Thousands of South African Police Service (SAPS) members in the Free State are currently carrying and operating firearms illegally, operationalizing a severe public safety risk due to a systemic failure to meet state training requirements.
The alarming revelation was brought to light on Tuesday by Roy Jankielsohn, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Spokesperson on Community Safety in the Free State Legislature, following an official legislative inquiry answered by the MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, Jabu Mbalula.
A Systemic Infrastructure Collapse
According to the official response, the SAPS in the province is facing a crippling logistical and infrastructural bottleneck that prevents members from maintaining their firearm competencies.
The crisis is driven by three primary failures:
- Severe Ammunition Scarcity: A critical shortage of both 9mm and R5 ammunition has severely restricted the capacity to conduct necessary training sessions.
- Infrastructural Decay: The entire province currently relies on a single; dilapidated SAPS shooting range located in Makwane, Eastern Free State. The facility’s geographic isolation makes it inaccessible for the vast majority of provincial personnel.
- Inter-Departmental Deadlocks: External state entities, including the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Department of Correctional Services, have failed to accommodate SAPS members with slots at their respective shooting ranges to complete mandatory assessments.
The Numbers Behind the Crisis
The scale of non-compliance raises serious questions regarding the legality of current policing operations in the province. Figures reveal that 221 members do not comply with the baseline legal stipulations of the Firearms Control Act. Furthermore, a staggering 3,424 SAPS Act members have failed to meet the ongoing requirements necessary to maintain their firearm competency.
This means a massive contingent of the province’s force—where 58% of personnel are issued firearms—is currently not legally competent to use them. The resource deficit is underscored by ammunition allocations for the 2025/26 period, which saw a meager 190,260 rounds available for training and just 75,354 rounds reserved for operational use.
Exacerbating the situation is a severe breakdown in weapon accountability. Over the last three fiscal years, the Free State SAPS has lost three firearms, while an additional 34 weapons have been stolen, effectively funnelling state weaponry directly into the hands of criminal syndicates.
Legal Double Standards
The political fallout from these disclosures is expected to be significant. Jankielsohn heavily criticized what he characterized as a glaring double standard in law enforcement, noting that while private citizens face strict prosecution for violating the Firearms Control Act, the state’s own police force appears to operate above the law.
“This implies that SAPS members who carry firearms… are not competent to do so,” Jankielsohn warned, noting that members using un-certified firearms could face personal prosecution.
With the state failing to support its own frontline officers, the DA contends that Free State citizens are increasingly forced to rely on private security and community organizations for basic defense. The party has pledged to maintain legislative pressure to force a comprehensive overhaul of provincial police resourcing and training.
