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"The Minister of Police, Mr. Nathi Mthethwa's announcement of a firearms amnesty period from 11 January 2010 to 11 April 2010 for handing in illegal firearms, is welcomed. The Freedom Front Plus had already in August of this year said that it would be in the Minister's interest to once again introduce an amnesty period (media statement attached). Owners of legal firearms who are unsure about the recently finalised process of re-registration of firearms should however not be misled to hand in legal firearms. The Minister still has to comply with a Cape High Court decision as to the way in which owners of legal firearms have to be compensated, should they hand in their firearms," Mr. Pieter Groenewald (MP), chief spokesperson on Police for the Freedom Front Plus, says.

"From a previous answer of the Minister answered in Parliament, the Police had taken control of 104 880 illegal firearms since the new Firearms Act had come into force on 1 July 2004 until 30 June 2009. Of these, 33 823 were handed in willingly. There is however some doubt as to whether hardened criminals would indeed hand in their illegal firearms as it could possibly reveal their activities. It would rather be persons who, for some or other technical reason, are illegally in possession of a firearm, who would hand in these firearms," Groenewald said.