Bail denied for Kudakwashe Mpofu who allegedly used fake permit to get top government job

The Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to former North West Development Corporation CFO Kudakwashe Mpofu.

The 33-year-old Zimbabwean national appeared in court on Thursday on charges of fraud.

During the bail application, the state opposed Mpofu’s release on bail, highlighting concerns that he is a flight risk and might evade trial if released because he is allegedly in the country illegally.

Mpofu was denied bail, and the case was transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Mmabatho on 19 March 2025 for the accused to make his first appearance.

Kudakwashe Mpofu arrest

Mpofu was arrested by Hawks’s Serious Corruption Investigation members on 28 January 2025. His arrest followed investigations into allegations of using a fraudulent South African permanent residence permit.

In March 2021, the North West Development Corporations advertised the position of Asset Manager based in the Head Office in Mafikeng.

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Mpofu applied for the said position.

“As part of applying, he attached all the necessary documents, including his permanent residence permit, which is alleged to be fraudulent,” said NPA North West spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya.

“He was successfully appointed to the position on 1 May 2021. Subsequent to that appointment, he was later appointed as the entity’s Chief Financial Officer on 1 June 2023.

“The state alleges that Mpofu submitted a fraudulent South African permanent residence when applying for the North West Development Corporations job. It submitted that the permanent residence permit the accused person has was never issued by the Department of Home Affairs.

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“The state further presented an affidavit from an official of the Department of Home Affairs which confirmed that the permanent residence permit of the accused was never issued by Home Affairs and is fraudulent.”

He was allegedly paid more than R3 million in salaries.

Permit doesn’t exist in Home Affairs system

Mpofu’s arrest followed his fight with the Department of Home Affairs last year over his potential deportation back to Zimbabwe.

According to then-Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Mpofu and his lawyers were informed as “far back as 23 June 2023” that his permit was illegal.

“Mr Mpofu has been waxing lyrical about how the Department [of Home Affairs] never responded to his court and court orders. In a way, Mr Mpofu was trying to demonstrate that the department was guilty and he is innocent,” he said during a media briefing last year.

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“We can confirm that the permanent residence permit reference number appearing on Mpofu’s document does not exist within the Home Affairs system. We can further confirm that the control number appearing on Mpofu’s document does exist, but it was legitimately [issued] to somebody else and not to Mr Mpofu.”

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa