Africa-Press – Lesotho. STONE Xie, the controversial Chinese businessman who allegedly fleeced thousands of wool farmers, is in trouble after he allegedly helped three Chinese nationals enter Lesotho with fake documents.
Xie, who is accused of not paying farmers whose wool he sold last year, has denied any link with the Chinese who have since been deported. Home Affairs Minister Motlalentoa Letsosa told thepost yesterday that he called Xie to explain his link with the three Chinese he has since repatriated back to their country.
Letsosa threatened to take drastic measures against Xie if it is proven that he forged government documents to help the Chinese enter the country illegally. The three were deported back to China minutes after landing at the Moshoeshoe I International Airport last Saturday.
The principal secretary of Home Affairs, Tumelo Raboletsi, told a press conference that Li Dongmei, Zhang Yan and Liu Chaxiang had documents showing that Xie had invited them to Lesotho.
“These people were invited by Xie to Lesotho. He gave them a fraudulent letter of recommendation to enter the country,” Raboletsi said.
Raboletsi said after the Home Affairs officials inspected the documents in the trio’s possession, they realised that it was fake. “They refused to talk to us at all and we made them wait,” Raboletsi said. He said they called Xie and asked him how he knew the three.
Raboletsi said they asked Xie if he was there to collect those people and “he agreed but stated that he had been called by a friend in Gauteng province who asked him to help collect those three people from the airport”.
Raboletsi also said Xie told them that he did not know those Chinese. “Because we now do not allow people without return tickets to enter the airport, we immediately repatriated them back,” he said.
He said the trio had letters with fake Home Affairs stamps and letterheads. Raboletsi said they instructed Xie to come to the minister’s office on Monday to explain his connection with the trio.
“He agreed to come today (Monday) at 9 am but now he called the minister saying he has a flat tyre in Bloemfontein; therefore, he could not come,” Raboletsi said.
“Xie has defied the minister’s call therefore harsh consequences will then follow”. He said Xie should explain himself because “he came to collect people who had fraudulent letters.
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Raboletsi said they were considering revoking Xie’s permit because he is now committing crimes.
“His permit is clear on how he should behave while in Lesotho. We will just follow all necessary measures in the law to solve this issue to finality,” he said.
He said they suspect that the trio was just using Lesotho as a corridor into South Africa. Xie has however denied the allegations, telling thepost yesterday that “some people are out on a campaign to tarnish my name”.
He said he has heard that the ministry claims he had helped some Chinese to illegally enter the country. “I do not know anything about it, I just heard it from people and I am surprised,” Xie said.
Xie said he tried to help the trio as the deputy chairman of the Chinese association in Lesotho. “I went there to intervene after receiving a call from another Chinese that some nationals were having trouble at the airport,” Xie said.
“I must ensure that the Chinese living in Lesotho are well and cared for.
” He said he tried to help because his office is close to the airport. He said he knows the procedure to follow when applying to receive a visitor in Lesotho.
“I did two applications recently and they were all successful, how could I do a fraudulent document now?”
Xie said he did not defy the Home Affairs Minister’s call because his car broke down when he was on his way to Lesotho.
“I arrived there at 11 am but no one was there to attend to me,” he said. He said he wanted to meet the minister as soon as possible to explain himself.
“There are some people out there who hate me and want to destroy my name in the eyes of the entire nation.”
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