Ballistics expert Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela has revealed startling details before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, exposing how the same firearm — often an AK-47 — repeatedly features in multiple violent crimes across South Africa.
“You’ll find one AK-47 that always appears in multiple cases, but it’s never recovered,” said Mkhabela, explaining how ballistic evidence from cash-in-transit heists, taxi violence, and hit-for-hire cases consistently points to the same weapon.
According to Mkhabela, ballistic analysis shows that a small number of firearms are being circulated and reused by criminal networks to carry out assassinations and organised crimes. He said the situation reflects a deep-rooted problem in the country’s policing and intelligence systems, where illegal firearms remain in circulation for years without being traced or seized.
Investigators believe that the continued use of the same high-calibre weapons indicates a sophisticated criminal network with access to hidden weapon caches, often aided by corrupt elements within the system. The commission heard that this trend not only undermines public confidence in law enforcement but also fuels the cycle of violence in the country’s most volatile sectors.
Security experts have long warned that the failure to recover such weapons is one of the key reasons South Africa continues to struggle with targeted killings and organised criminal activity.
As the Madlanga Commission continues its hearings, pressure mounts on law enforcement to strengthen firearm tracking systems and close the loopholes that allow such weapons to move freely between criminal groups.