SAPS Arrests Mpumalanga Man With R5 Rifle and Ammunition

• The South African Police Service arrested a man from Mpumalanga who was found with an assault rifle in his car
• The suspect was already out on bail for separate incidents when he was stopped on the road
• South Africans were worried that he would be out on bail again, and some criticised the criminal justice system

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

MPUMALANGA — The South African Police Service in Mpumalanga arrested a motorist caught with an assault rifle and ammunition over the weekend of 15 December 2024.

Man arrested in Mpumalanga

According to TimesLIVE, the suspect was arrested during a stop-and-search in Hazyview in Mbombela. The stop-nd-search was part of an operation for a safer festive season. The police searched his vehicle and found an R5 rifle with more than 70 live rounds of ammunition.

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He was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was also found with damaged banknotes. The suspect was on bail after he was recently arrested for house robbery and possessing an unlicensed firearm.

South Africans unimpressed

Netizens on Facebook expressed no faith in the criminal justice system, and some believed he'd be free. The justice system recently came under fire for sentencing a woman in November for killing her abuser.

Pravesh Singh said:

"He'll be out on bail for his third crime soon."

Vincent Botha said:

"The South African justice system makes a mockery of law-abiding citizens' rights and our rights for a safe environment."

Innocent Shiburi said:

"SA courts protect criminals. I don't blame police who take bribes because courts ar useless."

Its-Nathi Bio Chemical said:

"He'll be back before January."

Floyd Dlamini said:

"He will be granted bail again."

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SAPS arrests suspect for robbing police officers

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the police arrested a suspect who hijacked two police officers in November. The incident happened in Durban.

The officers were off-duty when the suspect found them sitting in a car. He hijacked them and took their service pistols, too.

Source: Briefly News