“From visas to the green bar-coded ID book, weaknesses in the system of document issuance were engineered and exploited, enabling syndicates to extract bribes in order to issue documents to people who were not entitled to it,” Schreiber said.

Speaking at the University of Johannesburg Combatting Corruption Summit, on Friday 5 September, Schreiber said the Department of Home Affairs was a ground zero site for the grand corruption project, known as State Capture.

“Over the years, that level of impunity cascaded throughout the administration, as Home Affairs sadly became synonymous not only with long queues and poor service delivery, but also with corruption,” Schreiber said.

Schreiber said corruption was not limited only to Home Affairs.

“This pattern of syndicated behaviour, where people inside government conspire with “tenderpreneurs” masquerading as private businesses, is visible throughout the state. As South Africa increasingly morphed into a syndicate society, Home Affairs was not spared,” the Minister said.

The Minister said syndicates formed wherever services of value had to be rendered.

“From visas to the green bar-coded ID book, weaknesses in the system of document issuance were engineered and exploited, enabling syndicates to extract bribes in order to issue documents to people who were not entitled to it.

“It was not by accident that one of my first acts as Minister was to revoke the citizenship of Gupta family members. But now, under the GNU, a very different message is going out,” the Minister said.

Schreiber said individual accountability is the first building block of government’s approach to washing the stain of corruption and State Capture from not only the Department of Home Affairs, but the entire ecosystem that includes the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Government Printing Works (GPW).

“Through holding accountable people involved in corruption both inside and outside the department, we are dismantling the syndicates that took hold over many years,” the Minister said.

To date, Schreiber said a total of 54 officials from the department and the BMA have been dismissed between July 2024 and August 2025 for offenses including fraud, corruption and misconduct.

“This is a strong start, but we are far from done. We will not stop until we have purged each and every official who abuses their position for personal gain.

“Even more significantly, eight of these individuals have already been convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to 18 years each, sending a clear message that there will be no impunity for those who betray the public trust,” the minister said.

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According to reports, protesters in the Germiston CBD allegedly set fire to the Home Affairs building during clashes over evictions as residents allegedly demanded to occupy Pharoe Park flats without paying rent.

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Acting Director-General, Terry Vandayar, said vandalism undermined the hard-won rights and freedoms of South Africans and unfairly burdened taxpayers with the cost of repairs.

“Such acts of vandalism undermine the very rights and freedoms that South Africans have fought hard to secure and place an unnecessary burden on taxpayers who will ultimately bear the cost of repairs.

“While the Constitution guarantees the right to protest, it must be exercised in a peaceful and lawful manner that respects the rights of others and safeguards public property.

“Violence and destruction are not acceptable means of expressing grievances, and will not be tolerated,” the Acting Director-General said.

Speaking to the media at the scene, William Ntladi, spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Service, said they received calls about the fire just after 8am.

He said the two-storey building had been severely damaged and there were no injuries reported.

“The top section is the one that is well alight. The bottom one – we’re still battling to break in and see what’s happening. Resources are here, multiple fire stations, with multiple vehicles, and a number of firefighters are on site,” he said.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the department was gathering evidence and would open criminal charges against those responsible for setting the block of flats on fire.

“Home Affairs is collating evidence and will open criminal charges against the anarchists who set a block of flats on fire in Germiston, which then spread to the neighbouring Home Affairs office. It is nothing less than an attack on our social infrastructure and cannot stand,” the Minister said.

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His written reply to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) National Assembly (NA) public representative Thapelo Mogale adds the rider that measures to “curb and eliminate corruption” continue. One is the biometric movement control system (BMCS) which, with advanced technology such as body cameras, drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and CCTV, will assist the Border Management Authority (BMA) to detect “acts of corruption as they occur”.

Another is the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum constituted by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), BMA and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). It, according to the Ministerial response, will assist in developing strategies and measures aimed at dealing with corruption in the border environment, concentrating on “the immigration space”.

Mogale’s question was seemingly prompted by illegal stamping of passports at the Beitbridge port of entry (PoE) allowing “foreign nationals to fraudulently extend their days” in South Africa. He wanted Schreiber to investigate and report on any suspensions and actions taken to “deter such activities”.

The ministerial response has it there is a zero tolerance approach to corruption in the BMA.

“All officials,” Mogale was informed, “identified as being involved in any act of wrongdoing including stamping passports of foreign nationals to fraudulently extend their days in the Republic [of South Africa] were internally charged and disciplinary measures instituted against them”.

In 2024/24 three officials were charged internally and faced disciplinary proceedings with criminal charges brought against one of them. All three are currently (September 2024) awaiting the outcome of the disciplinary hearings. Two other Beitbridge officials were previously charged, found guilty and dismissed.

The DHA counter corruption unit works in collaboration with the BMA and is, according to the Schreiber response, “pursuing a variety of cases of alleged corruption”. One official is suspended pending the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing and she faces criminal charges as well.

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Accused of violating the Immigration Act after misrepresenting the reason for their stay in South Africa, charges were subsequently dropped against the accused.

The Libyan nationals left South Africa from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport on the morning of Sunday, 18 August 2024, on a flight paid for by the Libyan Government. It was reported that 89 flew out on a CemAir aircraft to Libya, and six were due out on a flight from OR Tambo International as the CemAir aircraft can only carry 90 people.

It is not clear whether the payment was made by the Eastern Libyan Government, based in Tobruk, or the UN recognised Government of National Unity, based in Tripoli.

Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, welcomed the swift conclusion of the deportation.

“I commend the Home Affairs officials and other law enforcement officers who worked tirelessly to ensure an expeditious deportation. We will continue to deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure that the country’s immigration laws are respected and observed,” said Minister Schreiber.

The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) previously indicated that they became aware of the camp a month ago, on 19 July, and issued an order to cease operations on 21 July. The South African Police Service (SAPS) raided the camp on 26 July, and discovered military infrastructure, and small amounts of cocaine and cannabis. PSiRA announced on 07 August that the license of the camp, owned by Milites Dei Security Services, had been suspended.

With the Libyans now gone, it is unclear how the investigation will proceed, with SAPS and PSiRA indicating that the investigations are ongoing, with focus now on the camps’ owners.

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“The message sent by this conviction is crystal clear: if you engage in corruption, we will find you and we will pursue you until you are locked up. Under this new administration, we will not rest until we have cleansed the scourge of corruption from the face of Home Affairs,” Schreiber said.

“Yesterday’s sentence must inaugurate a new culture of zero-tolerance towards corruption. The fight against corruption in this department, as demonstrated by the serious nature of the issues raised in this case, is particularly urgent given that Home Affairs sits at the heart of our national security apparatus,” Schreiber added.

Zuma’s sentence translates into an effective 12 years of direct imprisonment, with an additional 24 years suspended. Zuma was originally arrested in a sting operation after she tried to bribe a Home Affairs Counter-Corruption Officer with R10 000.

Zuma, who was convicted for multiple offences, was part of a syndicate geared to deliver fraudulent passports for reward to foreign nationals who did not qualify for the documents. Zuma was found to have processed 192 passports between 28 May and 12 June 2021 for foreign nationals who did not qualify to have them. She was paid R4 000 for each passport. Zuma left the Department in December 2021, following an internal disciplinary process.

All the affected passports were red flagged, an alert which means any person who tries to use these fraudulent documents at any port of entry will be immediately arrested. Thus far, two foreign nationals have been arrested, and are serving time for their involvement. An additional two were sentenced to four years imprisonment on 2 August 2024.

In 2022, to improve the security of travel documents, the Department introduced a requirement for all passports to be activated through a fingerprint at the office of application. This allows passports to be used only after the owner has validated them with their own fingerprints.

Former Home Affairs official, Zima Shange, is alleged to have recruited Zuma into the scheme. Shange was sentenced to an effective 10 year imprisonment in October 2023.

Minister Schreiber noted the results of the crackdown, on both corrupt officials and foreign nationals, has been a success. He applauded the work of the Counter-Corruption Branch of the Department, adding their successful convictions “demonstrate that the cancer of corruption can be defeated.”

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According to the department, Ahmed was apprehended in a sting operation involving the Counter Corruption Branch of Home Affairs, the Hawks, and the Police Crime Intelligence at the Home Affairs office in Krugersdorp in March 2022.

“In the aftermath of his arrest, his home was searched, where multiple passports which were not supposed to be there were found. For this offence, he is serving eight years. As the kingpin of the passport photo swap, the Krugersdorp Regional Court recently sentenced him to another 10 years imprisonment. 

“He is, therefore, serving 18 years for his involvement in the overall passport syndicate activities,” the statement read. 

The department stated that the passport syndicate aims to undermine the country’s laws by fraudulently obtaining South African passports for Pakistani nationals, who did not have a legal right to possess these documents.

Ahmed is said to have been working with some corrupt officials of Home Affairs in a network that spanned Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga provinces. 

Meanwhile, Home Affairs said they have already fired the 12 officials who enabled his scheme after the conclusion of their disciplinary processes. 

Motsoaledi said he welcomed the development and was impressed that the courts are sending a strong message that crime does not pay.

“We’ve been waiting patiently for the sentencing of this kingpin for his role in the Krugersdorp passport syndicate. This is an illustration that in our unflinching commitment to uproot fraud, corruption and all sorts of crimes bedevilling our country, we make sure that kingpins and their ‘lieutenants’ face the full might of the law.

“Passport fraud is not a victimless crime. Every single South African is a victim because we are now forced to apply for visas when we visit countries such as the United Kingdom. This was not the case before syndicates like these denigrated our passports. We will, therefore, have no mercy to anybody whatsoever, Home Affairs official or outsider, who gets involved in these dastardly acts. We are doing so to protect the interests of all South Africans,” the Minister said. 

He has since urged all citizens to immediately report such acts of crime to the nearest police station or report them to Home Affairs officials and to refrain from such criminal acts of selling identity.

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