Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
23 January 2024 | 18:30 CAT

Mitchell’s Plain police station. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks, GroundUp)

In a disturbing security breach at the Mitchells Plain police station, a total of fifteen firearms and eight imitation weapons, all tied to criminal investigations, have been reported stolen.

This unsettling discovery was made in the station’s SAP-13 storeroom, a secure area for storing evidence and exhibits from criminal cases.

On November 21, 2023, authorities realized these weapons, earmarked for forensic analysis, had mysteriously disappeared from the storeroom. This loss is believed to have occurred over six months, raising serious questions about the internal security measures at the police station.

Following this discovery, Detective Constable Lubabalo Malongwe, a 30-year-old officer at the station, was arrested and ended up in connection with the theft.

The police’s anti-corruption unit is investigating the matter while the stolen firearms have yet to be recovered.

In 2017, fifteen firearms were also stolen, which led to the suspension of then-station commander Brigadier Cass Goolam and five of his management team, who were dismissed but reinstated a year later.

Community Safety MEC Reagan Allen expressed his concern following the theft of the weapons. He says: “I have written to SAPS’s Provincial Commissioner to obtain details into this incident. It must be established where these alleged stolen firearms are and that they immediately be retrieved.

“Should it also be found that any of these firearms have been used to commit a crime, the one responsible for its loss and or sale should also be charged to this effect,” says MEC Allen.

Meanwhile, since his appointment, MEC Allen has relaunched a reward system.

“Any particular community member who is aware of where illegal firearms are stored can contact the tip of line on 021 466 0011, which will remain anonymous and confidential,” says MEC Allen.

Tip-offs on the location of illegal firearms will secure a reward of up to R5000 per firearm retrieved.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.