REASONS FOR REFUSAL OF FIREARM LICENCES Maimela v Commissioner, South African Police Service TPD 2001-11-30 Case no 16501/2001 Commissioner, South African Police Service v Maimela 2003 5 SA 480 (T)

Abstract

The Maimela case was originally an application to the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court for an order directing the Commissioner of the South African Police Service, the Appeal Board established in terms of section 14A of the Arms and Ammunition Act 75 of 1969 (“the Act”) and the Minister of Safety and Security to furnish reasons for the refusal of two applications for firearm licences. The application was successful in the court a quo but the matter was taken on appeal to the Full Bench of the same
division, which overturned the decision.
This note is the first in a series of three arising from the case. In this part, the focus will be on the general administrative law context of the firearm licensing process and the issues that served for decision before the court in the light of applicable principles of constitutional and administrative law. 
The second of the series will go beyond the issues that served for decision before the court and will examine critically the manner in which the South African Police Service (“the police”) approaches applications for firearm licences as revealed in the documents filed of record before the court. The third of the series will address the question of whether the new Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 is likely to alleviate the problems identified in the first two parts of the series.