HOME AFFAIRS CORRUPTION: ASSISTANT IMMIGRATION OFFICER TELLS IT ALL

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. Mazibuko’s 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.

Duties

Mazibuko, 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 Ndlovu’s 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 Mazibuko’s 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 Nkwanyana’s wife, whom she only identified as sikoni, called her. She stated that she directed Nkwanyana’s wife to her house.   She submitted that Nkwanyana’s wife brought a batch of passports and cash to her house. It was her evidence that Nkwanyana’s wife used to bring the passports and fetch them later. She said while working with Nkwanyana’s 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 Nkwanyana’s cellphone number. “He said he thought I knew someone else, as he already knew Nkwanyana. I called and informed Nkwanyana’s wife that I gave Zwane her husband’s 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 Nkwanyana’s wife continued to bring the passports and cash for stamping. However, she said Nkwanyana’s wife would sometimes tell her that she would get the money from Zwane.

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