KING WILLIAM’S TOWN – Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Mrs Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe today joined the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga to witness the destruction of thousands of dangerous weapons at a smelter in Nelson Mandela Bay District.
Our resolve to reduce the levels of serious crime generators and proliferation of dangerous weapons resulted in a resounding success when 14 254 dangerous weapons, including knives, spears, axes etc. together with 354 toy pistols and homemade firearms as well as 204 air rifles and pistols were seized from within all the clusters during the Festive Season. These dangerous weapons were seized by police officials at roadblocks, special operations, routine stop and searches, liquor outlets and intensive searches in hotspot areas across the Eastern Cape from 1 October 2019 to 31 January 2020. From the numbers confiscated, it is clear that the proliferation of dangerous weapons was dealt a significant blow.
Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Ntshinga gave a welcoming message and brief purpose of the day.
“Such an overwhelming success clearly indicates our determination to eradicate every form and shape of a weapon regardless of how small and insignificant it may look. We have always held the view that crime remains a serious regardless of the type of weapons used”, she said.
“This initiative is the first of its kind during my tenure as the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape”, she added.
MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison addressed the media.
“What has brought us here today is the hard work that men and women in blue put in on a daily basis, disarming criminal and saving lives and livelihoods”, she said.
“Many of these weapons never got to inflict any pain to anyone, they never got to spill any blood, inflict lives altering injuries or even kill anyone. Many of the weapons we are destroying here today, never got to destroy any families, leaving widows and widowers, they never got to leave any orphans”, she concluded.
The briefing was then followed by media engagement where MEC Tikana-Gxothiwe and Lt Gen Ntshinga responded to the questions by media that was came out in numbers.
The event was concluded at the plant where the destruction took place.
