Firearms software saga: police boss Puleng Dimpane heads to appeals court
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is appealing a court decision that requires them to pay over R1 billion to Forensic Data Analysts for a contract they previously cancelled. The dispute has led to the shutdown of a biometric firearm tracking system, resulting in the loss of thousands of police weapons.
Why it matters
The case highlights severe administrative and procurement failures within the South African police force, directly impacting public safety and weapon accountability.
Acting national police commissioner Gen Puleng Dimpane is seeking the intervention of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) regarding a R1.2bn debt, as costs escalate daily with interest in a R460m contract the police reneged on.
Following the SCA’s dismissal in May of the police’s bid for leave to appeal, Dimpane has now filed fresh papers for the court to reconsider its decision. She argues in her court papers that the high court in Pretoria usurped the procurement process by ordering the South African Police Service (SAPS) to both follow a procurement process and purchase the software at a predetermined price regardless of that process’s outcome.
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