MBABANE – Two Ministry of Home Affairs cleaners have been dismissed from the public service after admitting to soliciting money from the public.
They did so in exchange for facilitating the issuance of birth and marriage certificates. The two employees, Euphodia Nomthandazo Hlophe and Sindisiwe Mamba, were dismissed by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) with immediate effect. Their dismissal comes amid a wider crackdown on corruption and irregularities at the Ministry of Home Affairs, where previous investigations have uncovered allegations involving the unlawful issuance of national documents.
Hlophe, a cleaner, pleaded guilty to two charges: absenteeism and soliciting and improperly receiving money from members of the public in exchange for facilitating the issuance of birth and marriage certificates.
According to the CSC decision, Hlophe was charged with being absent from work from September 25, 2025, to February 12, 2026, without reasonable excuse. She was also charged for contravening Section 49(g) of the Public Service Act of 2018 by soliciting or improperly receiving money from three members of the public.
The three people allegedly paid E470, E900 and E1 000, bringing the total amount involved to E2 370. The CSC said Hlophe did not dispute that she had been absent from work for five months without approved leave.
In mitigation, she told the commission that she had given birth in September 2025, but lost the baby, and that she subsequently experienced difficulties which resulted in her failing to report for duty.
She said she lived in a rented flat and that her family members were unaware of what had happened to her. The commission, however, said Hlophe had not submitted medical reports or a death certificate to support her explanation. The commission also noted that she was aware that being absent from work for more than three consecutive days constituted an offence.
On the second charge, Hlophe did not dispute soliciting money from members of the public and promising to facilitate the issuance of birth and marriage certificates. The commission said the five-month absence constituted gross misconduct, while the dishonesty offence involved the exploitation of members of the public and the abuse of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ name for personal gain.
The CSC highlighted that the two charges demonstrated a pattern of misconduct and breached the trust relationship between Hlophe and the public service.
The commission said it had taken into consideration Hlophe’s explanation concerning the loss of her child, but concluded that the procedures applicable to her absence had not been followed. Hlophe was subsequently dismissed from the public service with immediate effect.
In a separate case, Mamba, also a cleaner at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Nhlangano, was dismissed after pleading guilty to soliciting money from members of the public in exchange for facilitating the issuance of birth and marriage certificates. According to the CSC decision, Mamba solicited or improperly received a total of E2 770 from five people. The amounts were E600 from Nomsa Khaba, E500 from Nokuthula Nhlabatsi, E900 from Nontsikelelo Bhembe, E470 from Peterson Hlophe and E300 from Bhekumusa Nhleko. The commission said Mamba had abused her presence and association with the ministry despite being employed as a cleaner.
During the disciplinary proceedings, the commission’s chairman, Simanga Mamba, questioned why she had taken money from people seeking essential documents to which they were entitled. She reportedly described her actions as a mistake and said she had not considered that they would eventually come to light. The CSC found her guilty of contravening Section 49(g) of the Public Service Act of 2018. The commission said the offence involved dishonesty and the exploitation of members of the public who had approached the ministry for essential documents. It further said Mamba had used her association with the ministry to mislead members of the public and solicit money for services provided by government. The commission said such conduct brought the Ministry of Home Affairs and the public service into disrepute and undermined public confidence.
In mitigation, Mamba said it had been a mistake and that it would not happen again, adding that she has children who depend on her. The commission highlighted that the need to maintain discipline, deter other employees and protect the public outweighed her mitigating circumstances.
It, therefore, dismissed her from the public service with immediate effect. The two cases add to a series of disciplinary and criminal investigations involving officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs over the alleged abuse of government systems and processes.
In March, this publication reported that the ministry had launched a 20-year internal investigation into some of its officers following a crackdown on alleged corruption involving the issuance of State documents. The investigation followed the arrests and suspensions of officers allegedly implicated in the irregular issuance of national documents.
The investigation was widened following the discovery of alleged irregularities in the issuance of Eswatini national identity documents to foreign nationals.
The ministry’s probe also followed the Times of Eswatini’s investigation into how South African businessman Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala allegedly acquired an Eswatini identity document under the name Vusimuzi Dlamini. The investigation revealed that a person bearing Matlala’s attributes was registered in the Ministry of Home Affairs’ civil registry as a resident of Motshane, although the woman listed as his mother denied that he was her child.
The matter subsequently led to the arrest and suspension of Home Affairs official Nonhlanhla Malambe, who was accused of assisting in the alleged unlawful issuance of the identity document. She now faces 17 charges following the filing of an amended charge sheet in July 2026. The investigations also uncovered allegations that the credentials of deceased employees of the Ministry of Home Affairs had been used to access government systems and facilitate the alleged fraudulent issuance of documents.
In August 2025, this publication reported that law enforcement and the Anti-Corruption Commission had uncovered an alleged organised crime syndicate operating within the ministry, with investigators examining the use of deceased employees’ credentials and alleged irregularities involving work permits, births, marriages and deaths.
In December 2025, two other employees of the Ministry of Home Affairs were dismissed after the CSC found them guilty of misconduct linked to the alleged fraudulent processing of identity documents for foreign nationals.
The investigation reportedly found that identities belonging mainly to elderly Swati women had been used to register non-citizens as their children, enabling them to obtain documents, including birth certificates and identity cards. The latest dismissals involving Hlophe and Mamba are separate disciplinary matters, but both relate to the alleged abuse of access and association with the Ministry of Home Affairs to obtain money from members of the public for government services.
The CSC decisions state that both women pleaded guilty to the charges against them and were dismissed from the public service with immediate effect.
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