South Africa: President Jacob Zuma Wants To Create A Gun Free State — Will It Reduce The Country’s Crime?

South Africa President Jacob Zuma announced that he wants to make South Africa a gun free state. Zuma, a member of the African National Congress, a terrorist organization that fought against the previous apartheid government, is famous for singing the song “Umshini Wami,” which means “bring me my machine gun.” The president also marketed a ringtone of the song as a way to fund one of his court cases, and the ANC smuggled between 60 and 100 tons of firearms into South Africa as part of their struggle.

As reported by News 24, President Zuma claims that making South Africa a gun free zone will help to reduce the crime committed against police officers. According to Statistics South Africa, the leading cause of assault-related death in South Africa in 2013-2014 is the result of using sharp objects 85 percent of the time. Gun rights for law-abiding gun owners have frequently come under assault in South Africa as crime continues to skyrocket.

iOL News reported that crime in South Africa continues to worsen as three break-ins in two months occurred at the home of Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha. Dr. Chris de Krock, who headed the SAPS crime and information analysis center, pointed to the lack of focused effort in gathering intelligence to prevent crime and called it “policing by chance.”

“One just gets the impression that there is no intelligence-focused prevention. It is highly unlikely that the minister’s home was broken into thrice in two months, without any other resident in the vicinity not also becoming a victim of similar crimes. There is a high probability that there is a crime hot spot in this area and that the same group of criminals are the culprits behind this.”

Although Masutha lives in a secure complex, he moved from his home into a hotel because he now feels unsafe. Even with bodyguards on-site, he was unable to reach them during one of the attacks. No one was found in the house after police arrived, and the house was later struck again.

As previously reported in the Inquisitr, farm murders continue to be a problem as farmers are viciously attacked and murdered. Although the police claim that the murders occur due mainly to robberies, most of the farmers who are targeted are white, and the crimes are quite brutal. The men are often beaten and then murdered while women are raped and children have been boiled alive.

South Africans frequently use firearms for personal protection and hunting, and no correlation between private gun ownership and the increasing rates of crime in South Africa. Licensed firearms owners in South Africa are estimated to contribute only about 0.5 percent to the violent crime rate.

Do you believe restricting gun ownership in South Africa will reduce crime? Should South Africans have the right to buy firearms to protect themselves?

[Photo Credit Getty Images/Handout]