The Hawks inquiry into State Security Minister David Mahlobo’s alleged association with a suspected Chinese rhino poaching syndicate kingpin has ground to a halt.
In November‚ Al Jazeera flighted a documentary on transnational poaching syndicates‚ which included mentions of Mahlobo’s alleged friendship with Guan Jiang Guang. In the documentary‚ Guan tells an undercover cameraman of his links to Mahlobo‚ through the minister’s visit to his massage spa in Mbombela‚ in Mpumalanga.
Since the airing of the documentary‚ Guan‚ who the Hawks had been investigating for more than a year‚ has vanished.
Hawks spokesperson Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi‚ when asked about the investigation on Thursday‚ replied: "Investigation? What investigation? No case docket has been registered. It is an inquiry and it is up to us whether we close it or not.
"What must we investigate? Where are the elements of a crime? How is a friendship a crime?" he asked.
He said they were definitely not investigating the minister.
Mulaudzi confirmed that Guan had disappeared.
"When we heard of the documentary in November‚ we wrote to Al Jazeera and informed them that to air it would scupper our investigation into a transnational poaching syndicate, which involved Chinese nationals."
He said that although aware of the documentary‚ at the time they had been unaware of its contents‚ although they knew it involved Guan and that they had him on camera.
"We never received any feedback from them. The next thing we knew it was aired and ... Guan had disappeared. When we raided the massage spa a few days after the airing of the documentary‚ it was all closed up and there was no one there.
"We immediately flagged his passport at all SA’s border posts‚ but he has not used it to leave SA. Our fear is that he may have skipped the country on another passport."
Mulaudzi said investigators recently returned to the massage spa‚ but it was still closed.
"We warned Al Jazeera about this. With this man gone there is nothing we can do."
Institute of Accountability director Paul Hoffman said there was nothing much the police could do if the man had disappeared.
"The fact that he has gone leads to one of two inferences: either he is scared of being arrested‚ or he is scared of letting down the minister. At this moment he could be alive‚ dead or anywhere.
"The allegations were damming‚ but in the absence of a witness there is no way that you can prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt."
TMG Digital
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