The Randburg Magistrate’s Court is expected to hand down its bail judgment on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, in the matter of Stuart James Scharnick, a 44-year-old businessman facing multiple charges under the Firearms Control Act. Scharnick has remained in custody since his arrest on 20 August 2026 outside the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, where the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry holds its hearings.
According to SABC News, Scharnick faces charges including failure to notify the registrar of firearms of a change of address where his weapons were kept, and handing a firearm to an unauthorised individual. His arrest followed an alleged confrontation with Sowetan journalist Herman Moloi, who opened an intimidation case after Scharnick allegedly confronted him over filming inside the commission’s auditorium.
During cross-examination on 7 and 8 September, the State challenged Scharnick’s credibility over conflicting residential addresses in his sworn statements. A state prosecutor told the court:
I am arguing that you keep on providing misleading information in statements under oath.
Scharnick, who told the court he moves frequently between Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal for business, responded:
I move a lot. So I wasn’t misleading anyone.
The National Prosecuting Authority alleged that police went to Scharnick’s Douglasdale residential address to inspect his firearms but could not locate him, subsequently establishing that he had moved without notifying the Central Firearms Registry, according to MDNTV Live. Scharnick has dismissed the charges as agenda-driven, though this claim remains his own assertion and has not been independently substantiated.
News24 reported that a criminal record centre employee allegedly deleted Scharnick’s criminal records, a claim heard in court. The full details of this allegation have not been independently verified by Cape Flats News, and the report rests on a single source.
Scharnick’s connections to suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya and National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams add a political dimension to the case. Sibiya, a former head of the Hawks in Gauteng, was suspended from his national police post in a separate matter, while Adams has been a prominent figure in Cape Town community activism and municipal politics.
The bail application was initially scheduled for 1 September but was postponed to 7 September at the State’s request to allow full preparation for cross-examination. Scharnick remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
What remains unknown is whether the court will grant bail and whether the State intends to pursue the allegation regarding the deletion of Scharnick’s criminal records as a separate charge. Cape Flats News journalist Nadia Daniels will check for the court’s ruling later on 9 September 2026.