SAPS DFOS – Credit Where Due

I recently had to go through the whole gamut of SAPS District Firearms Office services. Very briefly: 40-odd years ago, when living in South West Africa, I sold a rifle and a revolver, and bought a pistol. At that time, SA governed SWA, so licence applications in SWA were sent to the Central Firearms Register (CFR) in Pretoria, as were licence cancellations. Around 1982, the SA Police in SWA became the SWA Police, a separate entity (note: this was well before independence – SWA became Namibia in 1990). The SWA Police then issued firearm licences locally, though these still had to be registered with the CFR in Pretoria. As with any organization undergoing major change, they had hiccups and teething problems.

Long story short: the licence cancellations for the rifle and revolver I sold, and the licence issued to me for the pistol I bought, were never registered with the CFR. I then moved to SA, and later, when the new Act required us to reapply for all our existing licences, I discovered the pistol I’d bought in Windhoek was not licensed to me in SA, while the rifle and revolver I’d sold were still in my name. I produced the relevant documentation and signed police affidavits which my local DFO sent to the CFR. Two years later, I received my white licence cards – including licences for the long-sold rifle and revolver (for which I had not applied) but excluding one for the pistol. Consequently, my DFO repeated the procedure.

Now, ten years later, when renewing my licences at the Pinetown SAPS, I discovered that the CFR’S records still remained unchanged. This time, my DFO simply approved licence cancellation forms for the rifle and revolver and sent them off, giving me copies to put me in the clear. Since the CFR still regarded the pistol as unlicensed, I gave up and handed it in under the amnesty. I then applied for renewal of competency, collector’s competency and licences for my remaining firearms.

All this required numerous phone calls and interviews with various Pinetown DFO staff. I unfailingly received polite, friendly and efficient service from Capt Govender, Capt Muller, W/O Adams, W/O Odendaal and Sergeant Mkhize. I salute these men – they do exemplary work under appalling conditions, especially during amnesties and the Covid pandemic. – Gregor Woods, Kwazulu-natal