EASTERN CAPE. — A 60-year-old businessman from Mthatha has been arrested after 140 firearms were seized during a compliance inspection at the head office of his security company. The businessman faces a charge of attempted murder after a police officer sustained a gunshot wound in a tent during a traditional event.
Lt.Col. Amanda van Wyk, police spokesperson, says the police conducted the inspection earlier this week as part of Operation Buyisa. The businessman was allegedly found in possession of a firearm registered to the company without the required permit, which is a breach of section 3(1)(a) of the Firearms Control Act, 60 of 2000.
Officials further established that firearms registered in the name of the security company were not accounted for in the company's inventory register. A total of 140 firearms were confiscated, while a further 135 firearms could not be accounted for.
The businessman was already out on bail in connection with an attempted murder case involving a police officer in July 2026. He is alleged to have discharged a firearm in a tent during a traditional event, after which a police officer on duty sustained a gunshot wound.
The businessman is expected to appear in the Mthatha magistrate's court on 29 September for a formal bail application following this week's inspection. The confiscated firearms will be subjected to ballistic tests to establish whether any of them may have been used in other serious and violent crimes.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
