Hawks lose sight of prey

ALL THE focus was on former president Jacob Zuma as he finally appeared in court on charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering. Zuma repeatedly said he wanted his day in court to clear his name, and then, while in power, made every effort to delay his appearance, including perverting every institution charged with investigating and bringing finality to the matter.

We can, however, be thankful that Zuma was in the country, within the grasp of the authorities who could lay their hands on him as and when required.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of South Africa’s Public Enemy No 1: the infamous Gupta family, and Zuma’s son Duduzane. The three Gupta brothers and their families, and the younger Zuma, skipped the country as it became clear that the former president had lost his grip on power and that they no longer enjoyed the protection paid for by their patronage.

The Guptas have been sighted at various locations in their native India, where authorities have begun clamping down on their properties and business interests, and in Dubai, where a South African visitor filmed the elder brother, Ajay, just last week.

There is no sign of Duduzane, who famously dismissed a BBC interviewer’s suggestion that he could end up in jail if found guilty of corruption, saying that the thought had never crossed his mind.

There is also no sign of any effort being made by the Hawks or other authorities to track down Zuma or the Guptas – and have them extradited, if necessary – to face justice in this country.

The four have already failed to appear before the state capture inquiry and there is no reason to believe they will voluntarily return or surrender themselves.

It was therefore disappointing – and bizarre – to hear Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi say of Ajay Gupta this week: “He must just hand himself over.”

Are the Hawks truly not actively seeking the four?

Having allowed them to flee the country, one would hope that they would make a concerted effort to find and deliver them to justice.

We expect the Hawks to better emulate the predatory instincts of the bird they are named after than Mulaudzi’s ham-fisted response, or else rename themselves after something much more pliant.