qwasha, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

qwasha n.

also quash, qwash

[Zulu ideophone for a crunching noise; in this context echoic of the sound of the explosive click that is made when the gun is fired]

(S.Afr. township) a homemade gun, made from piping, springs and rubber tubing.

1989		Drum (Johannesburg) Apr. 36: One veteran policeman out there convinced his higher-ups to grant an amnesty to anyone who surrendered his ‘Qhwasha’ (that is the home-made rifle). There were no takers [DSAE].
1992		A. Sparks in Guardian Weekly 26 June 17: There are stolen revolvers and army rifles, clubs, spears and machetes, and a crude homemade zip gun called a qwash. produced from piping, rubber tubing and springs [DSAE].
1994		P. Hawthorne in Time 19 Dec. 16: A homemade pistol called a ‘quash’ — from the explosive click it makes when fired [DSAE].