Political parties demand urgent action after the SIU exposes decades of corruption at Home Affairs, including fraudulent visas, permanent residence permits, and millions in bribes benefiting high-profile figures and officials.
Image: Ntswe Mokoena/GCIS
Political parties are demanding urgent action following a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report that exposed widespread corruption within the Department of Home Affairs.
The interim findings, released on Monday, revealed that over the past two decades, fraudulent visas, permanent residence permits, and identity documents were allegedly sold to the highest bidder, often with the involvement of senior officials.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) described the report as “damning,” highlighting that more than 2,000 study visas were allegedly issued fraudulently and at least 20 officials have been dismissed.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the investigation confirmed that criminal syndicates had captured the department from within.
He condemned the irregular facilitation of permanent residence permits for religious figures, stating, “ Shepherd Bushiri, who fled South Africa while facing serious criminal charges, should never have benefited from a compromised immigration system in the first place.”
Thambo also criticised the influence of religious networks within the department, saying, “This represents a blatant abuse of administrative power, where religious influence and proximity to officials were weaponised to bypass lawful procedures.”
''When immigration systems are bent to shield individuals facing serious allegations, it ceases to be administrative misconduct and becomes political protection of impunity.”
Thambo emphasised the consequences of corruption, warning that it “has had direct consequences for justice, public safety, and national credibility.”
He added that ordinary Africans, particularly those from war-torn or failing countries, “queue for months in humiliating conditions” while politically connected individuals were fast-tracked and shielded.
“This dual system fuels social tension and xenophobic resentment, not because migrants are the problem, but because corruption distorts fairness and transparency.”
“The ANC political leadership which presided over this decay cannot escape accountability. The rot within Home Affairs did not emerge overnight but flourished under the watch of successive administrations that failed to digitise systems, enforce border control, and insulate immigration processes from criminal networks.”
He warned that the ANC leadership “which presided over this decay cannot escape accountability” and demanded “immediate criminal prosecutions of all implicated officials and external collaborators through the National Prosecuting Authority, including asset forfeiture proceedings against those who benefited financially.”
''The EFF reiterates that corruption, not migration, is the primary threat to national stability. When state institutions are captured, and documentation is sold to the highest bidder, public confidence collapses, and those genuinely looking to go through necessary processes suffer the consequences while others manipulate the system.”
The African National Congress (ANC) welcomed the interim report as part of an ongoing programme to combat corruption and organised crime within state institutions.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the investigation revealed “a deeply disturbing pattern of alleged syndicate infiltration into sovereign systems, fraudulent visas and permits, identity fraud, manipulation of verification processes, and the unlawful commodification of citizenship.”
She emphasised that such misconduct “is not mere maladministration. It is an assault on national security and sovereignty, constitutional order and public trust.”
Bhengu highlighted the steps taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa since assuming office in 2018, including strengthening the National Prosecuting Authority and signing amendments in June 2024 to establish the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption as a permanent structure within the NPA.
Shee also noted that nearly R11 billion linked to state capture and corruption had been recovered through coordinated work by the SIU, Asset Forfeiture Unit, and other law enforcement agencies.
Bhengu said prosecutions were advancing and assets were being frozen and forfeited, arguing that the era of impunity “is being systematically dismantled.”
She stressed that the ANC supports “the swift implementation of the SIU’s recommendations” and that internal controls must be tightened, regulatory loopholes closed, and accountability enforced “without fear or favour.”
ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni expressed concerns over the compromised immigration system, saying it has “been reduced to a marketplace where permits and visas are sold to the highest bidder.”
Ngobeni commended the SIU’s work but criticised the delays in formally investigating practices that had been widely known for decades.
She cited cases involving Bushiri and Omotoso, warning that both individuals allegedly exploited fraudulent or improperly obtained documentation to “build questionable wealth, influence and power within our borders.”
Ngobeni highlighted financial irregularities, reporting that officials allegedly used spouses’ bank accounts and third-party intermediaries to launder illicit proceeds, with four officials earning less than R25,000 per month reportedly receiving more than R16 million in unexplained deposits.
She called for “the immediate arrest of all implicated individuals, the freezing of illicit assets and the urgent strengthening of consequence management within Home Affairs.”
Ngobeni also emphasised the role of the Minister of Finance in allocating adequate resources to the Border Management Authority, which she said has been insufficient to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
Meanwhile, African Transformation Movement (ATM) parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula has written to Ramaphosa, urging the “immediate publication of the full SIU investigation report into the Department of Home Affairs and institution of criminal proceedings.”
Zungula said the SIU findings revealed systemic corruption and unlawful manipulation of immigration processes, and raised concerns that some individuals who fraudulently obtained documentation or appointments may currently occupy senior positions in government departments, state-owned enterprises, or other public institutions.
He warned of national security risks, noting, “A compromised Home Affairs system weakens border control, undermines identity management, exposes the country to organised criminal networks, and erodes public confidence in democratic institutions.
''The risk extends beyond administrative failure to the potential capture and manipulation of state structures.
Zungula called on the President to release the full and unredacted report without delay, suspend implicated officials pending verification, and ensure criminal prosecutions through the National Prosecuting Authority, including considering charges that could relate to undermining national sovereignty.
He also requested that a remedial framework be presented to Parliament, outlining corrective measures to restore institutional integrity and prevent recurrence.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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