The cop arrested in connection with the theft of 15 firearms and eight imitation guns at Mitchells Plain Police Station last year appeared at Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The case against Detective Constable Lubabalo Malongwe, 30, was postponed to 5 March for further investigation.
Malongwe, who was stationed at Mitchells Plain SAPS, was dismissed and arrested on 24 November for the theft of firearms confiscated in criminal cases and destined for forensic testing at a laboratory.
The discovery of the missing firearms was made on 21 November and it is believed that the theft took place over a period of six months.
Hundreds of upset residents picketed outside the cop shop on Friday, to express their anger in the police service.
The cop’s court appearance comes just days after Firdous Kleinsmidt, 12, was shot and killed while waiting for her scholar transport at Ieglaasi Nieyah Primary School in Mitchells Plain.
Protesters believe the murder could be linked to the missing weapons.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie, Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety & Security JP Smith and MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen handed over a memorandum to Major-General Vincent Beaton, the district commander at Mitchells Plain police.
The memorandum called for a full investigation into Mitchells Plain Police Station, an inquiry into the Community Police Forum, and the immediate suspension of personnel allegedly involved in the theft of the firearms and the administration of the police station.
Also present was the leader of the National Coloured Congress, Faadiel Adams, who said: “We know how the gangsters get their guns, it is not a secret.
“We had to go engage with the shooters on Thursday, we didn’t want to, but we had to and they have agreed to put down the guns. Children will continue to die because our lives are cheap.”