SIU unveils large-scale issuance of fraudulent permits by some home affairs officials

TheSpecial Investigating Unit(SIU) had uncovered wide-scale fraudulent issuance of permits, including to controversial faith leadersShepherd Bushiriand Timothy Omotoso, by some officials at the department of home affairs, its acting head said on Monday. Releasing an interim report from an investigation authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa, acting SIU boss Leonard Lekgetho said a whistleblower had alleged that foreign nationals entered the country, fraudulently obtained asylum seeker permits and used them to apply for permanent residence and, ultimately, citizenship. “The SIU received information that these foreign nationals collude with syndicates involving corrupt home affairs officials to secure permits without merit, as permits are issued upon application without assessing the asylum claim,” he told a media briefing.

“Holders can remain in the country even if their application is rejected by exhausting appeal rights up to the Constitutional Court, regardless of the merits of their application.” He said South Africa’s immigration system had been treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder. “Officials entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the department of home affairs instead turned their positions into a profit-making scheme,” Lekgetho said. “External actors, including Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, Mr Kudakwashe Mpofu and Nigerian rapper Prince Daniel Obioma, … exploited influence, fabricated documentation and manipulated systemic weaknesses to secure fraudulent residence permits.” Malawi national Bushiri, the founder of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church, faces several criminal cases in South Africa, mainly related to fraud, money laundering and immigration violations.

He is in his home country after fleeing South Africa in 2020 while out on bail. Lekgetho said that in its investigations, the SIU, helped by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), had searched five refugee reception offices, seizing laptops, desktops, cellphones, external drives and files. Cellphone analysis revealed communication between officials and foreign nationals showing payments ranging from R500 to R3 000 to facilitate the illegal issuing of permits and visas to unqualified individuals.

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“So far, we have uncovered that four officials who earn less than R25 000 per month have received a total of R16 313 327.00 in direct deposits. Evidence indicates that certain members of this group have acquired significant assets that are grossly disproportionate to their legal income,” Lekgetho said.

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