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Parliament’s environment committee wants a full investigation into State Security Minister David Mahlobo’s alleged involvement in illicit rhino horn trade and wants an immediate arrest of confessed rhino horn poacher Guang Jiang Guan.
Chairman of the Environmental Affairs oversight committee Phil Mapulane said the committee was deeply concerned by the revelations aired during an Al Jazeera television documentary entitled The Poachers Pipeline, in which Guang confesses his involvement in the illegal trade of rhino horn.
Mapulane said the committee noted Guang’s allegations linking Mahlobo in the illicit trade.
“It is in this regard that we call on the South African Police Service to immediately arrest this self-confessed killer and illegal trader of our highly-valued rhino species and to undertake a thorough investigation of all the relevant allegations he has made,” said Mapulane.
He said if Guang’s allegations about Mahlobo were left unattended, they could undermine the integrity of government’s efforts to dismantle international rhino poaching criminal syndicates.
“The allegations about the minister of state security visiting the establishment of people known to be part of criminal syndicates terrorising our biodiversity assets are more worrying, as they can undermine the confidence of our people in our best efforts in fighting this crime,” said Mapulane.
He said it was in this context that the committee was calling for a thorough investigation of the allegations by the relevant authorities “so we can get to the bottom of this”.
Mapulane said they welcomed and appreciated that Mahlobo himself has called for the investigation of the allegations against him.
The oversight committee held a colloquium on rhino poaching only two months ago (in September) in Parliament and it called for the introduction of a new legislation that would treat the killing of rhinos as a serious crime and which would warrant minimum sentences of not less than 15 years.
“These are indeed very serious allegations, considering the plight of South African rhino populations in the face of an ongoing criminal onslaught on this iconic, flagship species.
“Rhino poaching is the worst wildlife crime our country has ever experienced. It has reached epidemic proportions over the past couple of years, at a great cost to our nation in terms of the ecology and human and financial resources. It is a crime that all South Africans must unite in combating,” said Mapulane.
Two to three rhinos are killed by poachers on average every day in the Kruger National Park.
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