SAPS ballistics expert, Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela, has disclosed that police were forced to repurpose a museum into a secure storage facility to house more than 29,000 firearms linked to killings across the country.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission on Monday, Mkhabela said the backlog of gun-related cases had become so overwhelming that even the country’s most secure storage facilities could no longer cope.
“If anyone wants to appreciate the level of high crime involving firearms in South Africa, one must just visit my strong room where I keep exhibits,” Mkhabela said.
“At any given point, I have more than 29,000 firearms — and each of those firearms has killed a victim. We are living in a dangerous country.”
The brigadier painted a grim picture of an overburdened system: only 42 analysts were responsible for handling tens of thousands of firearms linked to violent crimes, each requiring meticulous forensic testing.
“We had to repurpose a museum to make it a safe,” he said. “It’s now full. We don’t have space anymore. We receive more than what we can process.”
Mkhabela’s testimony underscores the critical strain on SAPS forensic services and the magnitude of firearm-related violence plaguing South Africa.
Analysts, he revealed, were stretched to breaking point, forced to manage overflowing evidence bins and exhausted facilities — a situation he described as both “dangerous and unsustainable.”
The staggering volume of seized weapons highlights the deadly toll of gun violence and the urgent need for stronger gun control measures, faster case processing, and investment in forensic capacity.
As Mkhabela put it, every gun in their storage has taken a life.
Meanwhile, Mkhabela denied that ballistic reports in connection to the murder of engineer Armand Swart were tempered with.
The commission continues on Tuesday to hear testimony from the other SAPS ballistics officers.
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