A springtime mystery in Springbok this week had nothing to do with the annual daisy kaleidoscope sweeping across Namaqualand.
Why was Springbok’s celebrated "flower detective" stuck in a police disciplinary hearing instead of chasing down thieves stripping the veld of precious succulent plants – as he has been doing for years?
Capt Karel du Toit, four times the Northern Cape detective employee of the year, stands accused of profiting from the trade he has worked so hard to prevent. He was arrested in May by the Hawks on charges of fraud, theft, defeating the ends of justice, contravention of the Tourism Act and corruption.
This week he faced an internal hearing to decide his fate within the police force, where he has served as commander of the Northern Cape stock theft and endangered species unit. One of his senior colleagues, Warrant Officer Leonard Landrew, is charged alongside him.
But while Namaqualanders await a verdict, illegal traders are profiting from the law enforcement confusion, sources say. The avalanche of confiscated plants handed over to the South African National Biodiversity Institute has all but dried up in recent months, suggesting illegal plants may now be slipping through the policing net, the Sunday Times has established.
The Northern Cape department of priority crime investigations (DPCI) this week confirmed it had not received any recent cases. “We don't have recent cases regarding the trade or theft of illegal plants,” said DPCI spokesperson Nomthamdazo Mnisi.
The relative calm is in stark contrast to the spectacular success of the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU) under Du Toit’s watch, with 301 cases specifically related to plant poaching and 462 arrests since 2017.
“Many of these cases have been finalised with a 100% conviction rate. However, many cases are still on the court roll and haven't been finalised,” said a well-placed source with knowledge of the trade.
Police this week declined to clarify whether the outstanding cases would be withdrawn in light of the current police corruption allegations.
The state claims Du Toit had an ulterior motive in bringing suspects to book because he profited from “a scheme that reportedly exploited court sentences to benefit a private entity”.
In a statement sent to the Sunday Times this week, the National Prosecuting Authority detailed how the policeman had allegedly blurred the lines between his role as law enforcer and private businessman. He is a director of a private tour company and a board member of the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) this week said the volume of confiscated succulent plants in South Africa had increased annually by 200% over the past four years
“The state alleges that Du Toit, in his role as director of Pillansii Tours and as a board member of the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association, orchestrated a system where the hunters association received financial benefits through court-imposed donations,” NPA Northern Cape spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said in the prepared statement.
“These donations were linked to plea agreements and alternative dispute resolutions involving accused individuals. Despite completing SAPS declaration forms indicating a monthly income of R750, Du Toit allegedly misrepresented this amount as a gratuity rather than disclosing it as actual income.”
Du Toit and Landrew are out on bail and due to appear in court again on October 24.
A well-placed source says Du Toit’s arrest is suspiciously convenient for well-organised syndicates involved in the illegal succulent trade. His private activities were known to his superiors, and his tourism company allowed him to effectively work undercover and monitor clients, some of whom later turned out to be plant thieves, the source said.
“The crux here is how effectively Du Toit and his office have been shut down, and the immense negative knock-on effect,” the source said.
Another well-placed source involved in monitoring the illegal trade said Du Toit’s case had sown division among environmental stakeholders.
“The biggest concern now is that since the arrest there have been very few new cases involving illegally harvested succulent plants in the Springbok area. We are unsure if this is directly related to the absence of these officials so these incidents are no longer detected, or whether its because these seizures are no longer being orchestrated, or if plant poaching in general has decreased for other unknown reasons."
Northern Cape police spokesperson Col Cherelle Ehlers this week confirmed the disciplinary hearing. “SAPS disciplinary hearings are an internal process and thus the outcome will not be released in the public domain,” Ehlers said.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) this week said the volume of confiscated succulent plants in South Africa had increased annually by 200% over the past four years. It did not clarify the volume confiscated since Du Toit’s arrest.
“By August 2024 there have been 668 different species and more than 1.15-million wild harvested plants seized. While law enforcement and reporting of the illegal harvesting is proving valuable, it is suspected that less than 25% of the trade is intercepted by enforcement officials, and it is likely that more than 1.5-million plants have been removed from the wild in the past five years.”
Allegations of state corruption linked to the succulent trade feature prominently in a detailed report on the subject conducted last year by Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime (Enact). The report, based on interviews with a broad range of stakeholders, highlighted the link between succulent plants, ivory, rhino horn, abalone and drug trafficking — all funnelled through criminal networks.
“Respondents also suspect corrupt government employees, such as police officers and nature conservation staff, mostly from the Northern Cape, of acting as intermediaries,” the report says. “Allegations of corruption linked to the illegal succulent market range from small-scale facilitation to senior law enforcement officials being involved and controlling the market and the price,” the report says.
Last December authorities seized more than 41,000 succulent plants from a house in Cape Town and arrested four foreign nationals. The case has yet to be finalised.
Conservationists say the illegal trade has the potential to denude a natural heritage treasure. Said Sanbi: “ The rarer and older the plant is, its loss from nature becomes increasingly more tragic.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.