A Home Affairs official has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in KwaZulu-Natal for her involvement in a large-scale fraudulent passport scheme.
Judith Salome Zuma was convicted on charges of corruption, fraud, and violations of the Identification Act and the Immigrations Act.
The spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Colonel Philani Nkwalase said Zuma was arrested on December 13, 2021.
“The meticulous investigation by the Hawks together with the Department of Home Affairs revealed that she was aiding a criminal network outside her jurisdiction at the Richards Bay Home Affairs office, exploiting vulnerable South Africans by luring them with money ranging between R300 and R500 for fingerprints used to obtain illegal passports for foreign nationals. These illicit activities were conducted at the Durban Home Affairs office situated on Commercial Street during the night, weekends, and public holidays,” Nkwalase said.
He said the probe further revealed that for each fake passport issued, Zuma received R4,000 amounting to a total of R768,000 from 192 fraudulent passports.
Zuma pleaded guilty to 1,159 charges brought against her, including a R10,000 gratification charge aimed at influencing another Home Affairs official to drop an investigation against her.
Zuma was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for 192 counts of fraud, six years imprisonment for three counts of corruption, and 10 years for 192 counts of corruptly accepting gratification.
She was also sentenced to a further five years imprisonment for 385 counts of contravening the Identification Act and another four years imprisonment for 386 counts of contravening the Immigration Act. She will serve an effective 12 years imprisonment.
National head of the Hawks, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya applauded the collaborative effort by the Department of Home Affairs, the Hawks as well as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and said the sentence, underscores a strong stance against corruption.
“This sentence serves as a stern warning to those who corruptly or fraudulently facilitate the influx of foreign nationals in our country,” Lebeya said.
IOL