Rampant Corruption Exposed at Department of Home Affairs, South Africans Accuse Officials of Treason
- Foreign nationals have paid as much as R1 000 for a birth certificate and R45 000 for a passport, thanks to corrupt officials
- The Department of Home Affairs' cases have been laid bare as Leon Schreiber revealed some of the crimes this past financial year
- South Africans have accused corrupt officials of being treasonous while also sharing their knowledge of corruption
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.
109 cases since the beginning of the current financial year.
That’s how many corruption cases were reported to the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) Counter Corruption and Security Services branch for investigation.
Source: Getty Images
New minister Leon Schreiber has revealed the shocking stats and details of fraud and corruption within the department, leaving many questioning why Home Affairs was selling the country.
Schreiber has hit the ground running since being appointed minister of the department and previously vowed to end its notoriously long queues.
Foreign nationals charged R1 000 for birth certificates
According to the findings of the new minister, corrupt Home Officials, working together with big syndicates, operate at night to process illegal documents for foreigners.
In one instance, an official was found guilty of providing South African birth certificates to Zimbabwean nationals for R1 000.
Home Affairs also were investigating allegations that an immigration officer was selling ID's for R50 000.
R45 000 for a passport
In one of the more severe cases to hit the department, a Pakistan national was arrested after he was found to be bribing officials to obtain illegal documents.
Arfan Ahmed charged foreign nationals R45 000 for a passport and ran a syndicate operating in six provinces.
He was handed an 18-year jail sentence, Home Affairs confirmed.
Saffas accuse department of selling the country
While the DHA is often criticised on social media for being unreliable, the new information has left many with a bitter taste in their mouths.
South Africans took to social media to accuse officials of treason, saying that they were selling the country.
@moflavadj called for action to be taken against the corrupt officials:
“Arrest every single one of these treasonous fools.”
@mnyani_siphe86 echoed those sentiments:
“They must be arrested for treasonous conduct.”
@Sihle_E_Nkosi touched on how the country was being sold:
“Selling SA one piece at a time, one ID number at a time.”
@GillesMcG predicted that the country’s culture would be lost one day:
“DHA is literally replacing South Africans on the daily. Little by little, bit by bit. One day, people will look around, and their very own culture will be gone.”
Other social media users focused on the prices, saying they personally knew of cases.
@ThisIsColbert suggested that there were cheaper places to get illegal documents:
“Lies. The most you can pay for a passport is R3k, and R5k for an ID. At Krugersdorp Home Affairs. It is known.”
@moganedi_unity knew of a lawyer who was guilty of the crime as well:
“I heard a certain lawyer saying that he can organise a permit for R20 000, and an ID for R40 000.”
@bhanaC also knew of a corrupt official:
“There is one at Cape Town home affairs( trying to get the name) who sells work permits to illegal foreigners for R15 000.”
DHA to cancel fraudulent IDs
The department is no stranger to fraud and corruption claims, with duplicate IDs being one of the major problems.
Briefly News reported that Leon Schreiber was eager to crack down on that scourge since being appointed the new minister.
Schreiber promised to resolve the issue and cancel all fraudulent and duplicate identity documents.
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Source: Briefly News
