South African passports. Photo: iStock
A 34-year-old former Department of Home Affairs employee will spend the weekend behind bars after being arrested on fraud and corruption charges.
Malusi Mlondo appeared briefly in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody
He was arrested in a joint operation by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) and Home Affairs Counter Corruption members at the end of last month.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said Mlondo will be back in court on the 6 May for a formal bail application.
“Mlondo was employed by the Department of Home Affairs in the Pietermaritzburg office. It is alleged that in February 2023, he processed fraudulent passports for foreign nationals at the department’s Durban office. Mlondo allegedly received payments of up to R3000 per document.
Internal investigation revealed that he was using details of the South African citizens together with the identity photos of the foreign nationals. A case of fraud and corruption was reported at Durban Central police stations and the case dockets were allocated to Hawks members for further investigation,” Mhlongo said.
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In March, four foreign nationals and a South African citizen were found guilty of corruption after fraudulently using South African citizens’ identity documents and biometrics to obtain South African passports for foreign nationals.
Congolese nationals, 25-year-old Tausi Majani Kahwere and 44-year-old John Majani Kahwere were convicted by the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
Police spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said three other accused, Bangladeshi nationals, 25-year-old Morshed Alam and 43-year-old Saiful Islam Sujon, and 42-year-old Oliver Whendle Hurriparsad, a South African national, were found guilty following a lengthy investigation by the National Serious Corruption Investigation, in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs’ Counter Corruption unit in KZN.
Mogale said all the accused pleaded guilty.
“The foreign nationals were arrested between 2021 and 2023 as they were boarding flights to different destinations. They were found guilty of all seven charges brought against them.
“The Congolese duo will be sentenced tomorrow, Friday, 08 March, whilst the trio will be sentenced on 21 May 2024,” Mogale said.
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