EFF alleges Gigaba bent the rules by granting Guptas SA citizenship

The controversial Gupta family, currently embroiled in a state capture scandal unravelling through leaked emails, allegedly had their application to become naturalised South Africa citizens declined by home affairs on January 21, 2015.

The EFF alleges in a media statement distributed this afternoon that a home affairs official, CG Hlatswayo, writing on behalf of the department’s director-general, Mkhuseni Apleni, informed the applicants they did not qualify to become naturalised South African citizens.

In a letter the party said it obtained from a reliable source, Hlatswayo is quoted as having told the Gupta family they did not comply with the requirements in terms of section 5(1)(b) of the South African citizenship Act of 2010.

He gave the main reason for declining their application as the fact that they “did not have five years of physical residence in the Republic of South Africa”.

The EFF disclosed that the family was advised to resubmit their application on December 23, 2015.

READ MORE: How Gigaba allegedly made home affairs a Gupta lapdog

They were allegedly told they could only do so on condition that they “do not exceed 90 days outside South Africa for every year in the five years preceding [their] new application and comply with requirements as prescribed in Citizenship Act, Act 17 of 2010 as amended”.

‘The country should ban [the Guptas] from even visiting South Africa altogether due to their corrupt, criminal and immoral conduct.’

The EFF alleged that in a letter dated May 30, 2015, the former home affairs minister wrote the family a letter in which he reportedly informed the Guptas they had been granted “early naturalisation”.

Gigaba is accused of having stated in that letter: “After careful consideration of the matter, I have decided by the powers vested in me under section 5(9)(a) of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 2010 (Act no 17 of 2010), to wave the residential requirements in regards to your application for naturalisation and grant you early naturalisation.”

That section of the act empowers the minister to grant an early naturalisation certificate “under exceptional circumstance” to an applicant who does not comply with the requirements of section 5(9)(a) of the act.

The party also announced it would be challenging Gigaba’s decision in court, as it did “not believe that in a normal process, implemented in the spirit and letter of our law, the Guptas qualify to be South African citizens”.

“In fact, the country should ban them [the Guptas] from even visiting South Africa altogether due to their corrupt, criminal and immoral conduct,” the statement said.

Gigaba’s spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete referred all queries to the home affairs department.

Apleni, whose first letter was signed on his behalf, told The Citizen he is unable to respond to the allegations as his department will have to undertake an investigation tomorrow to determine the facts.

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