MBABANE – The investigation into the fraudulent issuance of an Eswatini identity (ID) document to South African crime boss Vusumuzi Matlala has reportedly opened a can of worms at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
This publication has learnt that the investigation revealed an organised crime syndicate operating within the ministry.
The probe, led by law enforcement and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), has brought to light a modus operandi where corrupt officials use the credentials of deceased staff to engage in illicit activities and avoid detection.
The Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) has been enlisted to investigate individuals logging into the ministry’s system to issue documents.
The investigations have established a range of unauthorised actions and corrupt practices, including the fraudulent issuance of documents like work permits without the necessary supporting paperwork, and identity fraud through the deceitful registration of deaths, marriages and births. Officials are also allegedly part of syndicates that fraudulently issue passports through photo swaps, where a liSwati individual is swapped with a foreign national at the photo booth so the foreigner’s picture is used on the passport. Furthermore, bribes are allegedly being taken to help people avoid long queues or to not pay fines for overstaying.
The Matlala case revealed an attempt to cover up the fraudulent activity. An implicated Home Affairs employee allegedly called a contact at the RSTP to request the removal of digital traces related to the fraudulent ID. RSTP officials, while monitoring the system, noticed that the employee’s username had been replaced with that of a deceased colleague. They tracked the developments, reversed the changes and discovered collusion between the employee and an RSTP officer. Despite this, RSTP officials could not identify the exact workstation used to erase the traces of the fraudulent ID.
Meanwhile, the corruption scandal saw the arrest of a Zimbabwean national, Delight Moyo, who was suspected of being a middleman for immigration officers and their customers. Moyo, who was arrested by the Serious Crimes Unit, was allegedly part of a syndicate selling refugee status and passports to foreign nationals.
He was found with five stolen Eswatini passports and had been using a fraudulent passport to enter and exit the country since last year. He was also charged for offering a bribe of E2 100 to a public officer to stamp fraudulent passports. His apprehension led to the arrest of a number of other officials on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. All this followed an internal probe by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2022 into the sale of refugee status and passports. This internal investigation led to the transfer of over 100 Immigration officers in 2023.
The theft of security documents was so rampant that government planned to instal an E3.99 million security surveillance system at the Immigration Office. The corrupt practices have been linked to civil servants selling government documents from their homes, with some reportedly having a large clientele of people of Asian origin and from north eastern African countries. The civil servants reportedly dealt with agents who would bring them orders for documents, which were then filled out with blank documents and paid for in cash.
Home Affairs Communications Officer, Mlandvo Dlamini said while the investigations are yielding positive results, no further details can be disclosed at this stage.
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