While the party commended the SIU for its work in exposing widespread corruption within the department of home affairs, it also expressed serious concern over the time taken to formally investigate practices it says have been widely known and spoken about for decades. The SIU report revealed that South Africa’s immigration system had effectively been turned into a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder.

Officials entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of home affairs allegedly converted their positions into profit-making schemes, colluding with syndicates and external actors to issue fraudulent documentation.

Among those implicated are controversial Malawian preacher Shepherd Bushiri, businessman Kudakwashe Mpofu, and Nigerian rapper Prince Daniel Obioma, also known as 3GAR. These individuals allegedly exploited influence, fabricated documents, and manipulated systemic weaknesses to secure fraudulent residence permits, said acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho.

“South Africa has already witnessed the consequences of a compromised immigration system. Disgraced individuals such as Shepherd Bushiri and Timothy Omotoso allegedly exploited fraudulent or improperly obtained documentation to build questionable wealth, influence, and power within our borders,” said ActionSA parliamentary chief whip, Lerato Ngobeni.

The SIU investigations revealed clear links between visa approvals and bribe payments, with funds moving within days of permits being issued. Officials allegedly used spouses’ bank accounts and third-party intermediaries to launder illicit proceeds.

Shockingly, four officials earning less than R25,000 per month reportedly received more than R16m in unexplained deposits. Serious border management failures also enabled individuals who had overstayed or departed unlawfully to re-enter South Africa without proper records. 

Accountability cannot rest solely with frontline officials, Ngobeni stressed. “The minister of finance must answer for failing to allocate adequate resources to the Border Management Authority to fulfil its constitutional mandate,” she said.

ActionSA called for the immediate arrest of all implicated individuals, the freezing of illicit assets, and the urgent strengthening of consequence management within home affairs. Without decisive action, corruption within the immigration system will continue to undermine national security, economic stability, and public trust.

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh