Self-confessed rhino horn trafficker Guan Jiang Guang is believed to have gone into hiding, fearing for his life after making damning allegations against State Security Minister David Mahlobo.
Workers at Nelspruit-based Jinxu-Chinese (JL) Massage on Monday confirmed that their Chinese employer, Guan, had gone into hiding after the airing of a documentary because he feared for his life. The staff, who are also Chinese nationals, refused to be identified.
On Monday afternoon, the country’s priority crimes unit, the Hawks, confirmed it was investigating links between Guan and Mahlobo.
Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said the matter was referred to the unit by Mpumalanga police commissioner Bethuel Zuma.
Mulaudzi confirmed that the Hawks were investigating the allegations against Guan as well as his alleged links to Mahlobo.
In an Al Jazeera documentary on rhino horn poaching in SA, aired at the weekend, Guan was secretly recorded saying he had a "close connection" with Mahlobo. He said he did business with the minister’s wife.
In the secret recording, Guan showed the journalist pictures of himself and the minister.
Mahlobo, who was the MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs in the Mpumalanga government before his elevation to the state security post, denied the allegations, saying he simply visited a spa owned by Guan and was unaware of his illicit activities.
Social media was abuzz with the story on Monday, with some drawing tenuous parallels with Mahlobo’s predecessor in the intelligence portfolio, Siyabonga Cwele, whose wife, Sheryl, was convicted of drug peddling and is serving time. During her trial Cwele, who is now minister of telecommunications and postal services, denied knowing that his wife was involved in illicit activities.
The World Wildlife Fund SA commended Al Jazeera for its exposé and said this was the latest "in a series of apparent incidents of high-level political and diplomatic involvement in the illicit trade of rhino horn".
CEO Morné du Plessis called for a full investigation.
In the Al Jazeera documentary, Guan is asked if his "friend, the minister" does "any business". He responds in the negative, claiming only Mahlobo’s wife does.
"He doesn’t do any business. Whenever there is a big project, his wife is out front. He is behind the scenes. It’s very common in SA that the wives are doing business and the husband acting officially," Guan says. "If anything happens they will mention their husband’s name."
Mahlobo described the allegations against him as "unfounded and slanderous".
"I am not a friend of the guy, nor have I been ever to his home…. Finally, my wife has no business relationship with the man or his employees," Mahlobo said.
The minister is consulting his legal team to look into possible "defamation action" against Al Jazeera and other involved parties.
The DA called on President Jacob Zuma to place Mahlobo on special leave pending an investigation into the matter. The Presidency did not respond to requests for comment.
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said Mahlobo could not continue in his current position with the allegation hanging over his head.
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