The legal boundaries of private defence do not expand when you patrol your neighbourhood in a high-visibility jacket. Acting as informal law enforcement exposes armed citizens to profound criminal and civil liability.
The verbal statements you make to SAPS in the immediate, adrenaline-fuelled aftermath of a self-defence shooting will dictate the trajectory of your prosecution and frequently dismantle an otherwise valid claim of private defence.
The financial ruin of a self-defence case does not come from the final verdict but from the compound, inescapable costs of the legal process itself, which routinely exceed R250,000 before the trial even concludes.
The proposed “exceptional circumstances” requirement for Section 13 licences in the 2025 FCA Amendment Bill is designed to eliminate civilian self-defence under the guise of administrative regulation. Discover how this de facto ban works.
Section 149 of the Firearms Control Act turns a valuable firearm collection into a criminal liability for your executor and heirs within 24 hours of your death if not properly structured. Learn how to protect your estate.
When the state compromises the crime scene or delays forensic processing, the financial and procedural burden of proving your justified self-defence claim falls entirely on you. Discover why forensic evidence is the foundation of your freedom in a South African court.
