MBABANE  An assistant immigration officer, who was allegedly involved in fraudulent activities in the Ministry of Home Affairs, has revealed how the operations were conducted.Lungile Mazibuko, who has been made an accomplice witness, made the revelation when testifying against her colleague, Mboneni Zwane and Delight Moyo from Zimbabwe. An accomplice witness is a person who knowingly, voluntary or intentionally gives assistance to another in (or in some cases fails to prevent another from) the commission of a crime. The duo was arrest following fraudulent activities, including theft of Eswatini government passport books, bribery, corruption and fraud. Zwane is also accused of illegal manufacturing of the passports, visas and permits. Evidence presented by Mazibuko pointed out that the corruption activities started around 2022. She revealed that she walked in the footsteps of another officer, who was transferred to the headquarters. Mazibukos evidence further revealed that she worked with Zwane and Moyo, who paid her between E500 and E700 per passport, which were brought for stamping in the absence of their owners at the Ngwenya Border Gate, where she was deployed as an immigration officer.  These are allegations whose varacity is yet to be tested.DutiesMazibuko, who was employed by the ministry in 2010, told the court that she was transferred to Ngwenya Border Gate in 2014. She said in 2022, they were joined by Samukeliso Ndlovu, who also served as an assistant Immigration Officer. She said their duties included capturing passports into the system, stamping them, checking validity of visas and permits, and passports expiry dates. She told the court that they also checked if immigrants had not overstayed in Eswatini.  She said as they worked with Ndlovu, he told them that he had a friend, Hsiao Nkwanyana, who was used to crossing to South Africa. She submitted that as time went on, she got to know Nkwanyana. However, she said Ndlovu was transferred to the headquarters. Nkwanyana came to me with a batch of Eswatini international passports after Ndlovus departure. He told me that he used to work with Ndlovu and he asked me to assist him. I understood him to mean an illegal activity. There were too many passports, which did not belong to him, she alleged.The Crown wanted to know what the law said concerning the stamping of passports. In response, Mazibuko told the court that the law provided that passports were stamped in the presence of the owners. She said the stamp meant the passport holders had entered and exited the country. However, she told the court that Nkwanyana promised to pay her for stamping the passports in the absence of the owners. It was Mazibukos evidence that Nkwanyana warned her against capturing the passports into the system. She told the court that Nkwanyana made it clear that the passports would not appear in the system. She stated that when she tried to capture the passports into the system, she realised that they had particulars of different people. Nkwanyana paid me E400 per passport. I kept E200 and paid E200 for the stamp per passport at the South African side. I did what he requested me to do and it became a deal, she said.Deal Mazibuko told the court that during the course of the deal, Nkwanyana introduced his wife, stating that she would call her. After some time, she said Nkwanyanas wife, whom she only identified as sikoni, called her. She stated that she directed Nkwanyanas wife to her house.   She submitted that Nkwanyanas wife brought a batch of passports and cash to her house. It was her evidence that Nkwanyanas wife used to bring the passports and fetch them later. She said while working with Nkwanyanas wife, he received a call from her colleague, Zwane, mid 2023. She told the court that Zwane asked if she knew anyone who manufactured fraudulent passports. The officer submitted that she gave Zwane Nkwanyanas cellphone number. He said he thought I knew someone else, as he already knew Nkwanyana. I called and informed Nkwanyanas wife that I gave Zwane her husbands cellphone number. However, she responded that they knew Zwane and that he had some passports in the batch, she said. She told the court that Zwane confirmed knowledge of the passports and encouraged her to continue working. She told the court that Nkwanyanas wife continued to bring the passports and cash for stamping. However, she said Nkwanyanas wife would sometimes tell her that she would get the money from Zwane.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said on Wednesday that his department has taken decisive action against what he calls pernicious practice by certain officials, as part of his objective to unlock tourism and job creation.Schreiber stressed the need for Home Affairs officials to abide by standard port of entry visa requirements, alleging that some officials and e-visa managers have asked for unauthorised Immigration Regulations requirements from applicants.The unauthorised requirements include death certificates of applicant`s parents, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, proof of specified bank balance in the accounts and also consent from the applicant`s employer or educational institution.The standard, valid requirements are the passport of the applicant, a statement or document detailing the purpose and duration of the visit, a valid return airline ticket or proof of the reservation, and proof of sufficient financial means with certified three months bank statements.He explained that these regulations applied to physical applications processed at South African Missions abroad, as well as applications submitted on the e-visa platform.No additional documents are required from applicants, he stressed, adding that officials were also not authorised to request applicants to notarise their documentation.