Three Pretoria High Court officials suspended following fraudulent documents probe

The Hawks are investigating allegations that officials at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria are issuing fraudulent notices to help illegal foreigners evade deportation. Three officials have been arrested following a Hawks raid on Tuesday, 13 May 2025.
The three court officials have been accused of issuing fraudulent notices of motion to help foreigners evade deportation proceedings.
Three officials at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria have been placed on precautionary suspension days after the Hawks raided the court during an investigation into the issuance of fraudulent notices of motion.

On Friday, 16 May, the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) said the three officials, whose identities have not yet been released, are suspects in an “ongoing investigation by the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation [the Hawks] looking into fraudulent and corrupt activities in the court”.
“The OCJ takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption and the officials were therefore placed on precautionary suspension to allow investigations to proceed without being compromised.”

On Tuesday, the Hawks conducted a search and seizure operation at the court, where officials are alleged to have been issuing fraudulent notices of motion to help foreigners avoid deportation. A notice of motion verifies that a party is going to court over a specific matter.
The Hawks’ investigation had focused on one employee.
“It is alleged the employee has been issuing fraudulent notices to undocumented foreign nationals to prevent their deportation. This matter was formally reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in March,” the Hawks said.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Thursday, Hawks head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya said the unit had received information about the scheme involving the deportations of illegal foreign nationals.

“Based on that, and with the affidavit that we had, we had to go and conduct a search so that we could gather evidence so that we can deal with this individual. He is a Level 5 individual in terms of ranking,” Lebeya said.
Lebeya said Level 5 referred to a junior rank. He said the Hawks believed that the individual was working alone at the court, but said they would cast their net wide.

“Because there were others who went to fetch some of these documents, some of whom work in certain [law] firms,” Lebeya said.
“We believe that he is part of a syndicate; he can’t be operating alone. You cannot and go and serve them in some other environment where they need to be produced. There were others who were fetching these documents,” he said.
“We don’t know whether they are working with the firms […] or individuals associated with this specific person. But evidence will assist us in that regard,” he said

“We appreciate the information that came forward so that we can be able to stop this cancer,” Lebeya said.

Mthatha allegations
The suspension of the three Pretoria officials follows a number of recent allegations against court officials.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya visited the Mthatha High Court this week following claims of systemic corruption, with court officials allegedly soliciting bribes to do tasks that should be normal parts of their jobs.

Following her visit to the Mthatha court, Justice Maya said she “was assured a case had been opened with SAPS, and that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation had launched an enquiry into the matter. This process is running concurrently with internal investigations by the department.”
Maya requested that the implementation of the court online system be expedited, which is aimed at “protecting the integrity of court operations, enhancing access to justice, minimising manual processes and curbing the allegations of improprieties”.

Only South Africans receive birth certificates, says home affairs

Deputy minister urges parents to register their children within 10 days after they are born to reduce the need for late registrations.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza on Friday handed over 100 birth certificates and identity documents to successful late birth registration applicants in Mabopane, north of Tshwane.

Speaking to The Citizen, Nzuza clarified the department’s stance on documentation for foreign nationals.

“Birth certificates are only issued to South Africans. For foreign nationals, we issue them with a notice of birth,” he said.

Documenting South Africans, not foreigners

Nzuza said that no birth certificates were given to foreign-born individuals, amid rising concern about documentation fraud and misperceptions about illegal immigration.

“We have to safeguard the integrity of the population register against fraudulent registration,” Nzuza said.

“There are attempts where people try to register foreign nationals as South Africans. That’s why we conduct a lengthy process, including interviews and verification.”

He said the department’s responsibility is to ensure that only eligible citizens are officially recorded.

“In South Africa, to be a citizen by birth, you must be born to South African parents, or at least one parent must be South African. If we can’t trace a parent, we cannot assume citizenship,” he said.

Challenges with undocumented children

Nzuza said social development often intervenes in cases where children are abandoned or orphaned, complicating the registration process.

“These children are sometimes left with people who are not their biological parents. If we can’t verify that they are South African, it becomes an issue. But every South African child deserves to be documented, regardless of the circumstances of their birth,” he said.

The deputy minister urged parents to register their children within 10 days after they are born to reduce the need for late registrations.

“We are developing systems where a parent can register a child using fingerprints and instant online verification,” said Nzuza.

“In hospitals with more than 5 000 births annually, we’ve stationed home affairs units so that no child leaves without being registered.”

Restoring dignity

According to the department, the event formed part of an ongoing drive by the department to register South Africans who were never added to the national population register.

Many recipients had lived without documentation their entire lives. One beneficiary was born in 1973 and received an identity document for the first time.

“We are officially entering them into the population register. They can now access services such as social grants, healthcare and employment,” said Nzuza.

The event was also supported by the Gauteng department of social development, with MEC Faith Mazibuko present to oversee the provision of related services.

The South African social security agency and department of employment and labour were also part of the outreach.

Victory for asylum seekers: High Court declares parts of Refugees Act unconstitutional

The organisation argued that deporting individuals without properly considering their asylum applications violated constitutional principles.

The Western Cape High Court has ruled that several provisions of the Refugees Act are unconstitutional and invalid, marking a significant victory for asylum seekers in South Africa.

This decision concludes a legal battle that lasted more than two years and offers relief to foreign nationals seeking refuge in the country.

Western Cape High Court ruling favours asylum seekers

In 2023, the non-profit organisation, Scalabrini Centre, successfully received an interdict stopping the Department of Home Affairs from deporting foreign nationals who had indicated their intention to apply for asylum under the Refugees Act 130 of 1998.

The organisation argued that deporting individuals without properly considering their asylum applications violated constitutional principles.

The High Court’s recent 42-page judgment specifically addressed multiple contested sections of the Refugees Act.

These provisions had prevented asylum seekers from qualifying for refugee status if they had entered South Africa unlawfully, had fraudulent South African identification documents, or failed to report to a refugee reception office within five days of entering the country without compelling reasons.

The court found that “simply refusing to entertain an application due to the fact that persons had entered the country unlawfully was contrary to the principle of non-refoulement”.

This principle prohibits countries from deporting people who might face persecution or irreparable harm in their countries of origin.

Constitutional court confirmation pending

The declaration of constitutional invalidity has been referred to the Constitutional Court for possible confirmation, as the statute’s invalidity cannot take effect without approval from South Africa’s apex court.

The High Court declared several specific sections of the Refugees Act unconstitutional, including sections 4(1)(f), 4(1)(h), 4(1)(i), and 21(1B).

Additionally, regulations 8(1)(c)(i), 8(2), 8(3), and 8(4) of the Refugee Regulations were also deemed inconsistent with South Africa’s constitution.

Impact on detention practices

Several international organisations with expertise in refugee and migrant rights participated in the case.

They expressed two primary interests: the application of the principle of non-refoulement and the impact the disputed provisions would have on migrant detention.

The court noted that these organisations had demonstrated that implementation of the questioned provisions had “radically increased the detention of migrants in South Africa.”

The organisations argued that detention patterns would likely be reduced if the provisions were declared unconstitutional.

Background on refugee protections

In reaching its decision, the High Court referred to established principles from previous constitutional court cases, including Ashebo, Ruta, and Abore.

These cases established that “until an applicant’s refugee status has been finally determined, the principle of non-refoulement protects the applicant from deportation.”

The Constitutional Court had previously found that “once an illegal foreigner has expressed their intention to apply for asylum, they must be afforded an opportunity to do so”.

Furthermore, “a delay in expressing that intention is no bar to applying for refugee status.”

Legal framework

Section 2 of the Refugees Act orders the principle of non-refoulement, stating that “no person may be refused entry into the Republic, expelled, extradited or returned to any other country” if such actions would compel them to return to or remain in a country where they might face persecution or threats to their life, physical safety, or freedom.

The court ordered the respondents to pay 80% of the applicants’ costs, including those incurred during the initial part of the application.

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Good news for people who could not get smart ID cards

Over 1.4 million naturalised citizens and permanent residents in South Africa will be able to apply for smart ID cards from Monday, 12 May 2025.

That is according to recent feedback from Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber to Sunday newspaper Rapport.

Schreiber told the publication that the department had fixed an IT system issue that prevented most of these individuals from getting the card since it launched in 2012.

To date, only a handful of naturalised citizens who sought special permission from the Home Affairs director-general have been able to obtain the card.

The vast majority of the country’s 800,000 naturalised citizens and 700,000 permanent residents have not been allowed to apply for the more modern identity document.

Schreiber described the fix as the department’s biggest milestone since it started revamping its IT systems a few months ago.

In addition to no longer treating these individuals as second-class citizens, the minister said the system fix would enhance national security.

The minister also said that the achievement would bring the department closer to scrapping the green ID book, which was initially planned to happen several years ago.

The document has become a major target for modification and forgery due to its outdated security.

The DHA has eagerly encouraged people to get a smart ID card to better protect themselves against fraudsters and has given vague warnings about invalidating the ID book.

All the while, permanent residents and naturalised citizens have had no choice but to stick to their ID books.

In recent years, many have complained to MyBroadband about their inability to obtain a smart ID card despite being permanent residents or naturalised citizens for decades.

These included a high-profile and successful businessman who has been working in the South African music industry for more than 50 years.

If these individuals’ ID books were stolen or lost, they were forced to reapply for a green ID book at a dwindling number of Home Affairs branches that still offered the old document.

Plan to offer smart ID cards via banking apps

From Monday, naturalised citizens and permanent residents will also be able to use the eHomeAffairs facility to get their smart ID cards.

This system allows people to apply and pay for their cards online. Thereafter, they must provide biometric verification and collect their card at special Home Affairs kiosks in one of 30 bank branches.

The department aims to expand this service to 100 new branches by March 2026 and 1,000 by March 2028.

However, it also wants to eliminate the requirement for in-person biometric verification and allow applicants to verify their identities via their banking apps in the future.

According to Schreiber, integrating Home Affairs services into the branches was a “logical precursor” to delivering the same services online and via mobile apps.

This forms part of the department’s broader digitalisation strategy, which seeks to make it possible for people to access more of its services from the comfort of their homes.

To support these improvements, the DHA recently announced the rollout of a comprehensive upgrade of its digital verification system used by public and private entities.

This system, which verifies people’s identities through fingerprints and facial recognition against the National Population Register, has been plagued by inefficiencies.

The department said that before the upgrade, users reported failure rates on the system of up to 50% and that it routinely took up to 24 hours for the system to respond.

“When responses did arrive, they were often so littered with errors that they required a cumbersome process of manual verification,” the department said.

“Thanks to the diligent and focused work on this problem by the Department over the past few months, these errors are now set to become a thing of the past.”

“Testing has confirmed that the upgraded system is not only capable of dramatically faster performance, but that it now delivers an error rate of well below 1%.”