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