PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Bitou Deputy Mayor Nokuzola Kolwapi has been informed by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that she will be charged with contravening a regulation of the Environmental Conservation Act for allegedly firing a 9mm gun at her son's umgidi (return from initiation) celebration in December last year.

The instruction to charge Kolwapi was made on 5 March and both she and the complainant in the case, Welcome Tshala, leader of the Non-aligned Civic Movement in Kwanokuthula, were sent emails to this effect.

Kolwapi made national news after the gun incident went viral on social media.

Senior Public Prosecutor Sibongile Mpambani said in correspondence to Tshala that the Plettenberg Bay court was still awaiting the docket and no date for Kolwapi's appearance has been set.

Concern

Tshala has now sent an email to the DPP asking why the charges relate to the Environmental Act and not the Firearms Control Act. He has requested a reconsideration of the decision.

The nature of the concern he originally expressed to the DPP is that the alleged conduct falls within the scope of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000, which regulates the possession, use, and discharge of firearms, and prescribes appropriate criminal sanctions.

"Charging [Kolwapi] under environmental legislation instead of firearm legislation creates a reasonable apprehension of selective or preferential treatment and raises concerns regarding equality before the law as guaranteed by Section 9 of the Constitution," said Tshala in his email.

He said charging a firearm-related incident as an environmental offence "risks eroding public confidence in prosecutorial decision-making and undermines deterrence and respect for the rule of law".

Tshala requested reasons for the decision as well as the alignment of the charges with the Firearms Control Act "as supported by the evidence".

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