The home affairs department has suspended an immigration officer from North West amid allegations that she was selling South African identity documents for R50,000.
The Official Identified as “Elizabeth”
The official, identified as “Elizabeth,” was allegedly exposed during a recent episode of Sizokthola on Moja Love. The show focuses on issues such as drugs, addiction, and their effect on society.
Department spokesperson Siya Qoza confirmed to news repoter that action had been taken against the official. “Department of home affairs placed the official on precautionary suspension on Tuesday, pending an investigation,” said Qoza.
On the show, Elizabeth was accused of allegedly working with drug dealers in the province and selling South African identity documents for R50,000. During the “exposé,” she was found with alleged screenshots of official home affairs documents on her phone and multiple IDs, including some allegedly belonging to her, her daughters, and her husband.
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Previous Cases of Misconduct
Last year, the department dismissed two employees for selling South African identities to foreigners. Another four officials were suspended for similar offenses.
Phathisani Outshiki from the department’s Benoni office was found guilty of gross misconduct for processing 111 documents for illegal foreign nationals using particulars of South African citizens for a fee of R1,000 per application. Ninety-eight of the documents were passports and 13 were IDs. Outshiki pleaded guilty and was subsequently dismissed but appealed against his dismissal.
Morena David Motsamai from the Germiston office was found guilty of gross misconduct after processing 13 passports for ineligible foreign nationals. He was paid between R2,500 and R5,000 per application. Motsamai pleaded guilty and did not appeal against the sanction. He was later dismissed.
Home Affairs Minister’s Stance Against Corruption
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi stated that his department is determined to root out corruption. “We shall root out corruption wherever it rears its ugly head. I have no doubt that with support from members of the public who are patriotic enough to report these corrupt practices, we dare not fail but win this battle,” he said.
Motsoaledi also warned that his department is on the trail of more home affairs officials involved in “shameful acts.” He emphasized the importance of protecting one’s identity: “If you sell your identity, you are replaced by a foreign national on our database which means you will not be able to access services in the country.”