MP Ian Cameron defends firearm use after Philippi attack

The politician says it was justified self-defence, but the incident has sparked scrutiny over whether it was proportionate and if it's appropriate for a public representative to be carrying a gun. By Vincent Cruywagen

- Vincent Cruywagen

The parliamentary police committee chairperson, DA MP Ian Cameron, says he acted in self-defence when he shot one of the assailants who attacked his vehicle in Philippi, Cape Town, last week, but there are ongoing questions over whether the force was reasonable and whether he should have been carrying a firearm at all.

Although bricks were hurled at his vehicle, an act that could reasonably be seen as life-threatening and prompting the use of a firearm in self-defence, the assailants themselves were apparently not armed, and their exact intent remains unclear. Only a police probe, followed by referral to a senior prosecutor, will determine whether there might be a prima facie case against Cameron.

In the aftermath of the incident on Tuesday, 19 August, experts told Daily Maverick it was imperative that the South African Police Service (SAPS) gather statements on the shooting, conduct ballistics tests and potentially refer the docket to a senior prosecutor, who would decide whether the evidence warranted prosecution.

Cameron and two fellow DA MPs, Nicholas Gotsell and Lisa-Maré Schickerling, were on their way to the airport from an oversight visit at the Philippi SAPS training academy when three suspects smashed their windows using bricks.

Two teenagers, aged 16 and 18, were arrested in connection with the incident, and a third suspect remains at large.

On Tuesday, 26 August, Cameron confirmed to Daily Maverick that his firearm has been sent for a ballistics test, adding, "I've not been charged and there is nothing to prosecute at the moment. There is no inquest because no one is dead."