The Hawks were sent packing after an embarrassing standoff with the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF) military police during a bungled raid to confiscate controversial Cuban drugs stored at the South African Military Health Service's (SAMHS's) depot in Pretoria.
The Sunday Times has learnt that Hawks officers were made to leave after a tense standoff between the two armed groups on Friday, with one source claiming things got so heated that guns were drawn.
The police's elite crime-fighting unit was accompanying the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), which was there to confiscate drugs that were smuggled into SA by the defence force last year under cover of a mercy flight.
"It was really tense and a minister had to be called before the Hawks stood down and left," said a source with intimate knowledge of the incident. No drugs were confiscated.
Late last year the Sunday Times reported that the drug, Heberon Interferon-Alpha-2B, had been purchased by the defence force for R200m without any processes being followed. The drug was touted by Cuba as a wonder treatment for Covid-19.
Documents seen by the Sunday Times revealed at the time that the payments to procure the drug were allegedly justified in the defence finance system for "vocational training services".
At the time the military smuggled the drug into SA it was not registered for use in the country. The SANDF applied for permission to use the drug to treat soldiers months later, and this was denied by Sahpra.
An investigation into the procurement process by the auditor-general found that military officials effectively broke just about every law governing the importation and registration of medicines in SA. The probe also found that military officials used an SA Airways flight carrying Cuban doctors to help fight the coronavirus as cover to smuggle the illegitimate drugs into the country.
The auditor-general also found that most of the army failed to notice that R90.9m worth of the drug was stored outside of the 2ºC-8ºC window required to maintain the drug's integrity during transportation.
To date no-one has been held accountable for the importing of the drug, and the Sunday Times understands the procurement was rejected by senior officials in the SAMHS, a wing of the SANDF.
The source said at some stage guns were drawn outside the gate to the base in Pretoria, but this could not be independently corroborated.
Both Sahpra CEO Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela and police minister Bheki Cele's spokesperson Lirandzu Themba yesterday confirmed that an "incident" took place on Friday.
Semete-Makokotlela said the authority will issue a statement on the matter soon. Themba said that the minister "was informed about an incident at the base but not about any standoff. Maybe SANDF can shed more light on this standoff."
Daryl Glaser, an associate professor of politics at Wits University, said though it is still not clear whether the Hawks had the correct documentation, it should be concerning that armed authorities would refuse to subordinate themselves to law enforcement and get involved in standoffs. "What you are describing sounds like the military looking after its own self-interest in terms of defending itself against allegations of impropriety … We rely on the military to be cohesive and to serve the civilian democracy."
SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini confirmed the visit, saying the Hawks did arrive at the base and left without entering. He could not be drawn on the reasons they were denied entry as well as the altercation, saying he was not informed about that.
"I can confirm that Sahpra, accompanied by the Hawks representatives, visited our medical depot yesterday but subsequently left without any incident."
The Hawks did not respond to questions.
A military source said: "The Hawks arrived and they were told they couldn't access the drugs because, one, they did not have correct documentation, and two, they have no jurisdiction in the base."
The Hawks arrived and they were told they couldn't access the drugs because, one, they did not have correct documentation, and two, they have no jurisdiction in the base.
— A military source
On Friday, the SANDF released a statement saying it has procured interferon for use solely by its members who are employed to assist in managing the Covid pandemic.
"Interferon is not a vaccine and does not treat Covid-19 pneumonia among hospitalised patients, but it confers heightened protection against Covid-19," it said.
The statement said the SAMHS had applied for the use of the drug to Sahpra and obtained approval on October 5 last year for the use detailed in that application.
The application was done in terms of section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, which mandates Sahpra to authorise the use of unregistered medicines in SA for certain purposes, it said.
The SANDF said it acquired the drug from Cuba on an emergency basis after "extensive and intensive consultations with fraternal militaries such as the Chinese, Cuban and other partners to discuss what was available to mitigate against soldiers being compromised in their front-line duties".
It said objective data showed that more than 8,000 subjects in various countries have safely benefited from Heberon use.
Two parliamentarians, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa and the DA's Kobus Marais, said the situation was "embarrassing" to SA.
"There should be no need to draw guns, but if the Hawks are not professional there will be guns drawn," Holomisa said. "It's a cultural shock for some of us who are used to discipline in the ranks of the military."
Marais said deterioration of discipline in the defence force was an indication of poor leadership at the very top. He said defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has failed to act decisively in several public failings in the SANDF, including allegations that R4bn was looted from defence intelligence.
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