South Africa and Gun Violence: Too many shots fired?
Has South Africa become a gun-wielding society, and
if so, how do we fix it?
Last year, that is 2022, of the 16,793 unnatural deaths, 3,861 were as a consequence of firearms. So, it shows we have a massive problem when it comes to deaths that are as a consequence of firearm use.
68 people are murdered every day in South Africa with firearms being the most frequently used weapon. Is the problem that we have too many guns in society or is it something far deeper than that? Carol Ofori tries to get some answers
In this episode of The Carol Ofori Podcast, Carol hosts a debate around gun violence in South Africa and asks the question, ‘Has South Africa become a gun-wielding society, and if so, how do we fix it?’
Carol’s guests are three seasoned role players in the firearm space in South Africa: Claire Taylor, Gideon Joubert, and Dr. Sibusiso Ntsele.
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Taylor is a researcher at Gun Free SA, focusing on gun violence prevention. She’s worked as a researcher and communicator on a range of social justice issues, particularly violence and injury prevention and climate protection, for over 20 years.
Joubert is the owner and editor of ‘Paratus’ - an online firearm ownership resource - as well as an independent security consultant and a registered Category 4 (Advanced) firearm instructor.
Ntsele is a specialist forensic pathologist with eThekwini Forensic Pathology Services, KZN Department of Health. He has vast experience in firearm-related injuries and fatalities and is the Acting: Head Clinical Unit responsible for clinical matters in all KZN medico-legal mortuaries.
While all three, for the most part, agree that South Africa is a gun-violent society, there was strong disagreement about the reasons for these problems as well as the potential solutions. It's a lively debate. Listen now at the top of the page or below – or read more about it under the podcast.
Joubert believes taking firearms away from civilians is the worst idea as he describes gun ownership as the last possible piece of resistance for law-abiding citizens against an ever-growing and relentless criminal element in South Africa, who very seldom face prosecution by the law.
Joubert argues “We need to makes sure that those who want to defend themselves, their families, and their communities, who are willing to shoulder the duty and responsibility of performing those tasks, can legally arm themselves with the tools they need in order to effectively defend what they deem precious against violent criminal predation, and that removing their ability to do so isn’t going to remove the ability of criminals to perpetrate violence.”
Joubert says, “While it’s not for everybody, I definitely think that, it’s thank goodness for armed civilians in this country because things probably would’ve looked worse if we weren’t around.”
Taylor’s argument is strongly against the ownership of firearms for a number of reasons. She says victims are four to five times more likely to be shot if they are armed at the time of the attack. Taylor also maintains that by owning a firearm, you will potentially one day feed the criminal market and contribute towards the gun violence in South Africa.
“If you choose to get a gun, you stand the very real risk that you are going to arm a criminal and that you are then in some way involved in feeding the criminal market and contributing to the gun violence epidemic in South Africa,” Taylor says.
On the question of whether not civilians should be armed, Dr Ntsele said he was in agreement, to varying degrees, with both Taylor and Joubert, and he argues there are too many socio-economic factors that come into play and need to be addressed with regard to firearm deaths in South Africa.
“There are more guns in the hands of civilians, but we have to look at other issues in society that need to be attended to, so looking at guns alone is part of the solution, however the full solution is much broader than that.”
Ntsele says, “One of the socio-economic issues that needs to be addressed is the use of alcohol and drug abuse in society where a close correlation has been found with use of firearms. Also, with regard to poverty, there is a close correlation with firearm use. Whether or not we promote gun ownership for civilians, we need to also look at the other ancillary issues that come from within society that need to be addressed.”
Meanwhile, in an earlier episode of The Carol Ofori Podcast, Carol had an in-depth conversation with seasoned economist Dawie Roodt about the current state of the South African economy.
Dawie paints a not-so-rosy picture for South Africa for at least the next few years. Dawie attributes a large part of the problem to the incredibly high levels of state debt. But, Dawie insists that the solution is not to leave South Africa but rather to stay and build something that contributes to the economy.
