Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
05 September 2023 | 09:36am SAST
2-min read

Picture: Freepik

Christian Prinsloo, a former police officer who sold 2 000 illegal firearms to gang members, was released from prison under President Ramaphosa’s special remissions program. Prinsloo was sentenced to 18 years in 2016 on charges of racketeering, corruption, and money laundering but served only three years and ten months of his sentence before being released on parole in August 2020.

The firearms supplied by Prinsloo were linked to gang violence in the Cape Flats, and it is estimated that 89 children’s deaths are linked to the illegal guns he supplied to gang members. To shed light on this case and the ensuing legal action, Radio Islam International interviewed Jason Whyte, a director at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Christian Prinsloo was the key figure responsible for controlling stockpiled weapons held by the South African Police Service (S.A.P.S.), including confiscated and defunct in-service weapons. He orchestrated the illegal sale of these firearms to gang members through intermediaries.

Prinsloo’s early release as part of the special remissions program has raised questions about the process. Whyte expressed his concerns, stating, “There’s no specific reasons that have been given, and one has really been left to guess at why somebody of that nature should have been let out after having served such a short sentence.”

Regarding suspicions of illegalities in Prinsloo’s release, Whyte clarified, “We really don’t know. That’s part of the problem. There are specific factors that the administrator is supposed to look at, so whether the culprit is going to commit the offence again, whether they’ve been properly rehabilitated, or any other special circumstances, but we haven’t been given that level of detail, so people do tend to suspect the worst.”

The class action lawsuit is aimed at the Minister of Police, not Prinsloo himself, as it seeks to establish a precedent for individuals who suffered losses or injuries due to firearms connected to Prinsloo’s actions.

As for the lawsuit’s process, Whyte outlined the steps, stating, “We’ve instituted what we call the certification application in the High Court in June, and that application will probably be heard in the early part of next year. Once we are confident we will get that certification, we will then proceed with a court case to determine the minister’s liability and then the claims of each individual person who might have suffered damages.”

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaiman Ravat.