A Pretoria military base has been hit by another serious security breach after at least three R4 rifles and a grenade launcher were stolen from Tek Base in Lyttelton.

The theft has revived old concerns because weapons were also stolen from the same base in 2019, with some later recovered on the East Rand.

Police and military investigators are now under pressure to explain how another cache of high-risk weapons could disappear from the same facility years later.

Military base breach sparks alarm

A break-in at a Pretoria military base has triggered fresh concern over security inside South Africa’s defence facilities after at least three R4 rifles and a grenade launcher were stolen. The theft took place at Tek Base in Lyttelton, where the missing weapons were discovered on Monday.

According to TimesLIVE, the incident was reported around midday after a member of the South African National Defence Force returned from an official funeral in Mafikeng and found signs of forced entry. Police and military police from Thaba Tshwane have both confirmed the case.

The disappearance of military-grade weapons from a secured base is likely to send shockwaves well beyond the SANDF. Once firearms like these leave official control, the risk to public safety grows fast.

Storeroom forced open

Investigators say the storeroom where the weapons were kept had been broken into. Early indications are that the suspects may also have cut through the perimeter fence to get onto the property.

Empty SANDF equipment boxes were later found in bushes nearby, suggesting the suspects unpacked or moved some of the stolen gear before leaving the scene. Authorities are still checking whether more items may be missing.

That detail matters. What has been confirmed so far is already serious, but the final list of stolen equipment may still grow as the investigation continues.

Old fears return

The theft has revived concerns about how well military sites are protected, especially when weapons are involved. South Africans have seen before how stolen guns can end up fuelling organised crime and violent attacks.

The case is also unsettling because this is not the first reported theft involving the same base. TimesLIVE noted that rifles were previously stolen from the Lyttelton facility in 2019.

That history will only intensify pressure on the SANDF to explain how another weapons breach could happen at a national key security site.

Pressure grows for answers

For now, no arrests have been announced. Investigators are trying to establish exactly how the suspects got in, what they took and whether the theft involved inside help.

Those answers will be crucial. A missing grenade launcher and assault rifles are not just stolen property. They are high-risk weapons, and every hour without recovery raises the stakes.

The big question now is simple: how did heavily controlled military hardware leave an army base in Pretoria without anyone stopping it?