Speaking notes of Minister Motsoaledi at the OR
Tambo International Airport Operation
14 April 2022 - DHA
Let me acknowledge the Director-General of the
Department, Mr Tommy Makhode
Head of the Counter Corruption Branch in the
Department of Home Affairs, Adv Connie Moitse
Members of the Hawks in Gauteng led by Major
General Ebrahim Kadwa
Members of Airports Company SA, led by Mr Jabulani
Khambule
Members of the multidisciplinary law enforcement
team
Members of the media
Fellow citizens and patriots.
Good day.
Once again we gather at another side of corruption
involving corruption related to Home Affairs.
Once again I restate my commitment that I will not
tire to fight corruption wherever it rears its ugly head.
My message is clear: If you commit any sort of
crime anywhere within Home Affairs, we are coming for you!!!
A short while ago, we arrested an immigration
officer who facilitated the entry of five Bangladeshi people into the country
without the requisite immigration documents, in this case, valid permits.
He is a key link in an elaborate and
well-coordinated international syndicate that operates in South Africa and
Bangladesh. At this airport, the network of the syndicates involves an
immigration officer and other role-players such as a member of the ground
handling staff, cleaners, security personnel as well as the law enforcement
agencies.
In Bangladesh, the syndicate includes a runner who
recruits Bangladeshi who do not qualify to visit South Africa and members of
the airline. All of these operations are coordinated by a kingpin.
The kingpin get the runner to recruit Bangladeshis
who want to come to SA but do not qualify. He charges them around
R110 000.
Then, a member of the airline smuggles the rogue
Bangladeshis by either providing false names of the passenger or by not
including the name of the passenger in the list of travellers on the flight.
Here at this airport, a runner takes pictures of
landmarks that the traveller needs to follow and the picture of the counter the
rogue traveller needs to go to. These pictures are then sent to the kingpin.
These are the pictures that help the rogue travellers to navigate their way
through the airport.
On arrival, they hang around the restroom
facilities and the transit area until the immigration counters are not busy. A
signal is given by another runner to go to the pre-identified official who then
processes them for entry without valid documents – in violation of the
Immigration Act.
Sometimes, these lawbreakers are wheeled in via
those rubbish bins with wheels – in what is perhaps a metaphor for their status
in the country.
The immigration officer or runner is paid around
R60 000 for each lawbreaker who is facilitated into the country. This
amount is shared with other members of the network involved in the criminal
act.
The arrest of this immigration official is going to
lead to the arrest of other immigration officials and other members of the
syndicate.
We shall also follow up to establish how these five
Bangladeshis were allowed to board the aircraft and to make sure that that
airline is brought to book. Ordinarily, each traveller has to be cleared by our
Operations Centre in Pretoria which operates for 24 hours. Airlines have to
submit the full list of everyone on board their aircraft through the Advanced
Passenger Processing system.
Ladies and gentlemen, it has not escaped me that
all of this is happening at an airport that bears the name of an icon with a
character that is beyond reproach, Ntate Oliver Tambo.
This syndicate is involved in this unpatriotic act
of selling the country at the feet of Tambo, who gave so much for the
sovereignty of this country.
I am comforted by the knowledge that here at this
airport, we have patriotic South Africans who are prepared to defend the
country through their deeds – not just words.
At this airport we have a Joint Operating
Coordinating Committee that comprises officials from Home Affairs, HAWKS,
Police, State Security Agency, SA Revenue Service, Crime Intelligence, Airports
Company SA and other stakeholders who have committed themselves to fight this
corruption.
The activities of this syndicate were picked up by
SARS (Customs Officials) just before Covid-19 forced the closure of borders.
During this period, this Committee worked hard to understand the modus operandi
of this syndicate and anticipated that their activities would pick up once the
borders re-opened.
I have been reassured that the law enforcement
officers have done a good job of collecting the required evidence to ensure a
successful conviction.
At this point, law enforcement officers have
already received sworn statements from some people who participated in the
apprehension of the official involved.
The messages I have been receiving from members of
the public and members of political parties since 24 March 2022 when I led a
takedown operation of a syndicate in Krugersdorp, affirmed my belief that our
society absolutely abhors corruption and they are willing to speak out and
contribute in fighting it.
I have received leads that we are following to
ensure that we get to the bottom of any wrong doing happening in Home
Affairs.
Our fight against corruption is gaining traction
because we receive tip-offs from members of the public about acts of corruption
conducted by some of our officials they interact with. At times, it may appear
that nothing is happening but patriots should rest assured that we work very
hard behind the scenes to ensure that we build watertight cases that meet the
requirement of proof beyond any reasonable doubt.
The actions of this syndicate have the following
consequences for the country:
- People
who don’t qualify to enter South Africa end up being in the country
illegally to the detriment of the sovereignty of our country.
- They
can use other syndicates to fraudulently acquire SA enabling documents.
We have had some success in arresting and
prosecuting rogue Home Affairs officials and their associates.
Last Monday, an immigration practitioner was
sentenced to a 15-year direct imprisonment for trying to corrupt an official of
Government Printing Works (GPW), which prints high security documents mostly
for Home Affairs. This immigration practitioner was working with an Ethiopian
national.
For clarity, please note that immigration
practitioners are not employees of the Department of Home Affairs. They must
not be confused with immigration officers, who are uniformed Department of Home
Affairs’ officials.
Immigration practitioners are private businesses
that assist foreign nationals to apply for permits. In other words, they act as
third parties in the application process. Unfortunately, some of these
immigration practitioners are not affiliated to any professional statutory body
that regulates their conduct. Alarmingly, some do not have verifiable business
premises.
In a desperate bid to gain an advantage over their
competitors, some of them have resorted to bribing corrupt Home Affairs
officials to get the applications of their clients expedited.
The practice became so prevalent that the
Department had to stop recognising and regulating them in 2014 when it amended
the Immigration Act of 2002 and issued new regulations.
In October 2021, the Bellville Specialised
Commercial Crimes Court in Cape Town convicted former Home Affairs official,
Joseph Lebitsa, on eight counts of corruption. He is now serving eight years
direct imprisonment.
Lebitsa was arrested in May 2019 together with
eight foreign nationals in a planned joint operation between the
Counter Corruption Branch and the SA Police Service in the Atlantis Home
Affairs office. The joint operation was arranged following information provided
by a whistle-blower.
Lebitsa and his accomplices, like the culprit
arrested today, were unlawfully linking photos of foreign nationals to existing
identity numbers of South African citizens to illegally issue passports.
Lebitsa and his accomplices were caught in the act and no passports were
issued.
Following the arrest, Lebitsa was taken through an
internal Departmental disciplinary process, was found guilty and was
subsequently dismissed.
One of eight of Lebitsa’s accomplices has turned
State witness. The trial for the rest of the accused is scheduled to resume in
April 2022.
In KwaZulu-Natal, 12 officials have been arrested
for similar passport-related fraud. Four of them have been dismissed and the
matter involving the other eight is still in court.
In this airport, there are six officials who were
arrested for various immigration related corruption in the past 12 months.
Their cases are at different stages in court.
Ladies and gentlemen, everyone must be aware that
South Africa is a country of laws and everyone who is in the country must
respect our laws which have been passed by our Parliament. All immigration laws
apply to everyone. We do not have parallel paths or alternate ways to visit
South Africa. I won’t allow people to disrespect our laws.
I encourage anyone who may have information about
corruption or any other criminal activities to contact the SA Police Service or
the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Department.
www.samigration.com
