Earlier this year, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu signed off on proposals to tighten firearm controls in the private security sector. Recent accusations against him, meanwhile, which he has denied, have ties to guns and the security industry.

Scrape beneath the surface of the several accusations recently levelled against Senzo Mchunu, the embattled police minister, and key themes, including firearms and private security, emerge.

This combination of themes has caused controversy before in South Africa.

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There are long-running suspicions that some people, including gangsters, manipulate private security - that they exploit businesses to gain access to firearms and use certain companies as fronts.

Rogue private security can lead to protection rackets, with "services" forced on businesses, and money demanded in return. In other words, extortion.

An example of security turned inside out is what happened in Nyanga, Cape Town, in January.

A taxi guard was killed and seven others were wounded in a shooting when two rival security companies, believed to be based in KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly took each other on.

Rifles and handguns were confiscated after that incident.

This is roughly where Mchunu fits in.

Daily Maverick previously reported that on 28 March 2025, he signed off on a call for public comment on proposed private security amendments that, if enacted, would see the tighter regulation of firearms in the industry.

A contentious part of those proposals said that a business could issue a firearm to a...