Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced a series of targeted interventions aimed at rooting out corruption within the Department of Home Affairs and holding implicated officials accountable for manipulating systems to issue documents unlawfully.
Schreiber’s statement follows the release of an interim report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which is investigating allegations of serious maladministration in the department.
Acting SIU Head Leonard Lekgetho said the investigation uncovered widespread corruption within the immigration system, describing it as having been “treated as a marketplace where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder”.
Lekgetho revealed that the probe identified recurring schemes involving document fraud, manipulation of visas and work permits, and facilitation networks that enabled unauthorised entry into South Africa.
According to the SIU, officials entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of Home Affairs instead turned their positions into profit-making schemes.
External actors, including Shepherd Bushiri, Kudakwashe Mpofu, and Nigerian rapper 3GAR, allegedly exploited influence, fabricated documentation, and manipulated systemic weaknesses to secure fraudulent residence permits.
“The investigation reveals that the country’s borders were not protected by law but auctioned off through corruption,” the SIU said.
The investigation was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation 154 of 2024. The interim report has been submitted to the President and its findings have now been made public.
Responding on Monday in Pretoria, Schreiber confirmed that disciplinary processes against implicated officials are underway.
“A total of 20 officials have already been dismissed since April last year,” he said.
The Minister added that he has requested the Director-General to formally engage the Department of Public Service and Administration as well as the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to prevent dismissed officials from being re-employed elsewhere in the state while criminal proceedings are ongoing.
Over the past two financial years, 75 disciplinary cases have been finalised, resulting in 16 suspensions without pay and 22 written warnings. Several matters have also been referred for criminal prosecution.
Schreiber urged the National Prosecuting Authority to prioritise the cases “as part of our collective efforts to restore the rule of law”.
The department has further identified more than 2 000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through syndicates operating within Home Affairs.
“Administrative processes are now underway to cancel these visas,” Schreiber said.
“We will also ringfence any subsequent visas obtained by the same individuals to ensure that all irregularly obtained documents are cancelled and that perpetrators are deported or prosecuted as required.”
To prevent future abuse, the department is moving to eliminate paper-based and manual processes and replace them with digital systems designed to close loopholes vulnerable to manipulation.
“As confirmed by the SIU, it is paper-based and manual processes that have long created space for crooked officials to overlook fraudulent documents or approve applications that do not meet regulatory requirements,” Schreiber said.
Saturday Star