Pretoria – A joint initiative between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) has resulted in the destruction of thousands of firearms seized during crime-combating operations in the kingdom.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said today, Saturday, 12 September 2026, that law enforcement authorities from South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho have strengthened regional cooperation in the fight against the proliferation of illegal firearms.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said that the cooperation resulted in the safe transportation and destruction of 1 787 firearms seized during crime-combating operations in Lesotho.
“The joint initiative between the SAPS and LMPS takes place in the context of African Amnesty Month and contributes to the African Union’s broader Silencing the Guns objective and its vision, under Agenda 2063, of a peaceful, secure and prosperous Africa free from the scourge of illicit firearms,” Brigadier Mathe explained.
On Friday, 11 September 2026, the destruction of the firearms was jointly presided over by SAPS Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane and LMPS Police Chief, Commissioner, Advocate Borotho Matsoso.
Lieutenant General Dimpane reaffirmed SAPS’s commitment to strengthening international and regional police cooperation through joint investigations, information exchange, intelligence-led operations, coordinated border management and the tracing and removal of illegal firearms from circulation.
“As we observe African Amnesty Month, this partnership between SAPS and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service demonstrates what regional cooperation can achieve,” said the SAPS acting national commissioner.
“We are not only taking firearms out of circulation; we are taking concrete steps towards the Africa we want to see by 2063, an Africa where communities are safer and where illicit firearms no longer fuel crime and violence.”
LMPS Police Chief Commissioner Matsoso reiterated the importance of sustained cross-border collaboration between law enforcement agencies.
“Continued cooperation between the Lesotho Mounted Police Service and SAPS is important to uproot crimes such as human trafficking, stock theft, car theft and truck trafficking,” said Matsoso.
“Today’s destruction demonstrates collaboration between two countries committed to fighting crime together.”
The National Central Bureaus of INTERPOL in South Africa and Lesotho played a pivotal role in facilitating and coordinating the movement of the firearms between the two countries.
“This underscores the importance of international police cooperation and coordinated mechanisms in combating the proliferation and cross-border movement of illegal firearms,” said Brigadier Mathe.
“SAPS continues to demonstrate its commitment to effective firearms control through sustained processes aimed at permanently removing illegal firearms from circulation.”
Two months ago, SAPS destroyed 11 859 firearms, together with 4 089 blank guns and airguns.
“The destruction of these 1 787 firearms therefore forms part of ongoing efforts by law enforcement authorities in the region to ensure that weapons seized through policing operations do not find their way back into the hands of criminals,” the SAPS spokesperson said.
“The SAPS and LMPS partnership demonstrates the value of regional cooperation, information sharing and coordinated policing under the SADC and SARPCCO frameworks.
“Such collaborative efforts are essential to disrupting transnational organised crime, tracing illicit firearms and contributing to the continental objective of Silencing the Guns by 2030 and advancing the Africa envisioned under Agenda 2063.”
