"I Lost Everything”: Jailed Former SARS Official Shares Painful Warning Against Corruption
- Former SARS official Hlengiwe Khumalo shared an emotional account of how corruption led to a 10-year prison sentence and cost her everything she had worked for
- Speaking at an anti-corruption awareness campaign, she revealed that she lost her career, pension, house and car after becoming involved in an organised criminal scheme
- Khumalo urged South Africans to learn from her mistakes, warning that corruption destroys lives, families and futures
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SOUTH AFRICA - A former South African Revenue Service (SARS) official who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence has shared a powerful warning about the devastating consequences of corruption.
Speaking during an anti-corruption awareness campaign at the Oshoek Port of Entry on 10 June 2026, Hlengiwe Khumalo reflected on how one decision changed the course of her life, costing her career, assets, freedom and family relationships.
Khumalo shares emotional testimony
Khumalo, who worked for SARS in Nelspruit and is originally from KwaMashu in Durban, became emotional as she recounted how her involvement in corruption began in 2010.
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Addressing attendees at the anti-corruption campaign, she admitted that personal pressures and the desire for a luxurious lifestyle played a role in her downfall.
"I was ashamed of myself. I was pushed by social pressures, friends and wanting to buy all the luxuries and World Cup tickets. This was an organised criminal act,” she said.
Khumalo explained that the lengthy legal process took a heavy toll on her mental and physical well-being. She described the stress of repeatedly travelling between Durban and Nelspruit to attend court proceedings.
"The stress that you go through makes you lose weight,” she told the audience.
Family only learned the truth after her imprisonment
The former SARS official revealed that she kept her legal troubles hidden from her family for years.
According to Khumalo, she did not tell her parents about the criminal case until she was incarcerated in 2023.
Fighting back tears, she explained that she struggled to find the words to tell her loved ones what she had done and feared disappointing those closest to her.
One decision cost her career and assets
Khumalo also spoke about the opportunities she lost as a result of her actions.
She said SARS had been funding her further education and supporting her career development before everything came to an abrupt end
“My pension, house and car were all taken from me because of one act, and I had to repay everything.”
She warned attendees that the consequences of corruption extend far beyond a prison sentence as the Asset Forfeiture Unit made sure they will colllected everyting until the last cent.
Looking to rebuild her life
Despite her circumstances, Khumalo said she is determined to start over once she completes her sentence.
She revealed that she hopes to earn a living through baking and create a new future for herself.
"When I get out, I have a plan of baking just to make a living, a life totally different from where I am.”
Concluding her testimony, Khumalo urged public servants and members of the public to avoid the mistakes that led to her downfall. Using her own experience as an example, she warned that corruption can destroy careers, finances, reputations and families.
"Please make the right choice,”she said.
Home affairs official jailed for 12 years
In related news, a former Department of Home Affairs official was sentenced to 12 years in prison for her role in a corrupt passport fraud scheme that facilitated the issuance of 192 illegal passports, compromising Mzansi's national security and resulting in stashed profits of nearly R800,000. The post shared on Facebook by Frontline News on 14 May detailed that Judith Salome was sentenced at the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
Source: UGC
Public servants arrested for stealing by manipulating the bail system
Briefly News also reported that a Gqeberha court handed out justice to four former court officials who got caught siphoning money from the South African bail system. The men, Mzikazi Mahlalasa, Letitia Mack, Yonela Nstaluba and Nomathandazo Takayi, were convicted for manipulating the bail system in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, 21 June. The five men stole R92 800 by transferring bail payments to their personal bank accounts. There was a fifth accused, but Nondumiso Waxa died in March 2019.
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Source: Briefly News
