MBOMBELA – The arrest of a suspect in a poaching case earlier this year, Mr Calvin Meshack Mbuyane, was followed by an SAPS press release which elicited a media frenzy.
Mbuyane was initially connected to a host of serious allegations, including amending rifles to equip them for rhino poaching. When he appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, it transpired that he was only facing a charge of the illegal possession of ammunition.
In March Mbuyane’s employer, an arms dealer, contacted the police to report his suspicion that the accused was stealing from him. Hawks spokesman Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi previously said that CCTV footage confirmed this, which led to Mbuyane’s arrest. “The suspect admitted to having stolen the rounds and led the police to a house of a man he claimed to have been the intended recipient of the ammunition. The said man was not found at his house after several police visits but the search for him continues,” Mulaudzi said.
According to his statement, the suspect was found in possession of numerous air rifles, as well as pieces of a 12-gauge shotgun, a cylinder tube for an R4 or R5 firearm, pieces of chamber locks for a .303 Mauser rifle as well as silencers.
“Mbuyane was employed as a general gunsmith labourer and was allegedly altering firearms as numerous hand tools were found at his house as well as visible alterations to pieces of firearms found in his possession. He is also suspected to have been supplying rhino poachers with ammunition as the calibre rounds which he stole from his employer are the ones commonly used by rhino poachers. It is also believed that he is allegedly responsible for repairing firearms for rhino poachers. Investigations are continuing,” Mulaudzi concluded.
According to a reliable source, Mbuyane now faces a lesser charge than the allegations portrayed in Mulaudzi’s statement following his arrest on March 2. “The only charge against him is that of illegally possessing ammunition,” the source confirmed after his court appearance on Tuesday. His bail was extended until his next court appearance on October 20.
