ZIM NATIONAL HELD FOR PASSPORTS THEFT, BRIBERY, FRAUD

MBABANE - Investigations into fraudulent activities in the Ministry of Home Affairs have seen a Zimbabwean national being arrested for alleged theft of Eswatini Government passport books, bribery, corruption and fraud.

Delight Moyo, who is suspected to have been a middleman between some of the Immigration officers and ‘customers’ who needed passports, was arrested by the police under the Serious Crimes Unit yesterday, near The New Mall in Mbabane. Moyo is suspected to have been part of a syndicate dealing in the sale of refugee status and passports to foreign nationals. When Moyo was arrested, it is alleged that he was found in possession of five Eswatini passports, suspected to have been stolen from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Further investigations uncovered that Moyo had been producing a fraudulent passport to immigration officers in order to enter and exit Eswatini through Ngwenya Border Gate, since last year.

Investigations

The investigations also uncovered that Moyo allegedly stole Eswatini Government passport book No: 0071943, which is valued at E300. It has been alleged that Moyo acted jointly with other people in the commission of the offence. He has also been charged with theft. He is alleged to have received stolen Eswatini Government passport books No: 0072999, 0073327, 0071982, and 077733 valued at E1 200. The passport books are the property of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is alleged that Moyo offered a public officer an amount of E2 100 as an inducement to or a reward for stamping and not reporting fraudulent passport No: 10337826, 10034578, 10440656, 10034326 and 10045233.

Bribe

The money, which is alleged to have been paid as a bribe to the public officer, has been handed over to the police. When Moyo appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court yesterday, the Crown applied that he be remanded in custody until March 26, 2024. The Crown also applied for the detention of the five passports and the money allegedly linked to the offence for a period not exceeding three months. Sivesonkhe Ngwenya, who is representing Moyo in the matter, said they were not opposed to the application for the detention of the items. However, Ngwenya submitted that it would have been much better if the exhibits were presented before court. One of the investigating officers, who overheard Ngwenya, moved forward and presented the money and passports before the lawyer could finish his submissions.

Compare

Mbabane Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi adjourned the matter to afford Ngwenya an opportunity to compare the serial numbers on the exhibits and the application for detention.
When the matter resumed, Nhlabatsi granted the order for the detention of the exhibits for three months, pending the setting of a trial date. Moyo was brought to court by the members of the Serious Crimes Unit (Tingculungculu). According to sources, more arrests are expected to be effected as police intensify investigations into the alleged fraudulent activities in the Ministry of Home Affairs. “This is just the tip of the iceberg as police are working around the clock to ensure that all the culprits are arrested and charged,” said the source. The police made the breakthrough after an internal investigation into the issuance of e-visa to foreigners.

In 2022, it was reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs had instituted an internal probe into the sale of refugee status and passports to foreign nationals. Police investigations reportedly found that there was a syndicate dealing in documentation status and refugee passports. It was revealed that the syndicate charged between E30 000 and E50 000 for fresh and legal documents for any undocumented citizen, who wanted to be treated as an official refugee in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The internal investigations saw over 100 immigration officers transferred last year. Also, the theft of security documents such as passports and travel documents as revealed in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development 2023/2024 annual performance report, was so rife that government intended to install E3.99 million security surveillance systems in the Immigration Office at the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the time, the Immigration Office was faced with the challenge of disappearance and theft of security documents such as passports and travel documents.

Surveillance

The report depicted that government would spend at least E3.99 million and the support went towards the procurement and installation of a security surveillance system (digital surveillance cameras, control equipment and other accessories) in selected Immigration Offices at the ministry, which stored security documents. “After the completion of the procurement process, a supplier was appointed and a 60 per cent advance payment request was received and is being processed by the donor,” reads the report. Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs temporarily suspended the manufacture of passports due to a shortage of passport books.

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