Henke Pistorius, father of alleged murderer and Olympic Gold Winner Oscar Pistorius, is blaming the ANC for violent crime in South Africa, which results in a large number of South African citizens carrying guns to protect themselves. It is reported that Oscar’s father, grandfather and uncles own 55 guns between them.

South Africa has one of the highest violent crime rates in the world, with 15 000 murders reported last year. Henke Pistorius attributes these high stats to the ANC government.

Henke also pointed out the crimes against white South Africans, stating that Afrikaners living in rural areas fear for their lives, with 1 600 murders of farmers reported since the 1990s.

He had this to say about the family arsenal:

Some of the guns are for hunting and some are for protection, the hand guns. It speaks to the ANC government, look at white crime levels, why protection is so poor in this country, it’s an aspect of our society.

You can’t rely on the police, not because they are inefficient always but because crime is so rife.

I have been in positions where I can use a gun but we have been brought up in a way that we value the lives of others very highly.

At the time of Reeva Steenkamp’s death, Oscar Pistorius was fast becoming a part of the gun clan. Apart from the 9mm he used to shoot and kill Reeva Steenkamp, he reportedly has six pending gun applications. Pistorius also reportedly joined a firearm collectors’ association in April of last year.

The government responded to the remarks made by Henke Pistorius, with ANC spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi saying:

Crime is something that affects everyone in this country. We have acknowledged it as a problem but there are many strikes that the government is making in addressing these issues. It doesn’t justify a person having to use a gun to kill, or justify him having many guns in his house. People must report crime to the police. Oscar’s father has no right to say that. It’s a very worrying statement.

[Source: Telegraph]