South African Officials Sold Visa & Residency

South Africa’s immigration controls have been structurally compromised by organized corruption, according to a sweeping government investigation that portrays visa issuance as a monetized “marketplace” operating across two decades.

Institutional Integrity Under Strain

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), acting under Proclamation 154 of 2024, examined visa and permit issuance between 2004 and 2024. Its interim findings describe corruption as “organised, deliberate, and devastating to public trust.”

Four unnamed officials earning less than 25,000 Rand per month were found to have received more than 16 million Rand in direct deposits. The SIU stated that immigration had been “treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder.”

Investigators detailed multiple payment channels designed to evade detection. Applications were “routinely sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval,” followed by transfers to accounts held by officials’ spouses.

In one example cited, a permit approved on 20 December was followed by a R3,000 deposit on 21 December.

Other transactions included R6,000 transfers days after two approvals. Cash concealment methods were also documented, including banknotes hidden inside application forms with office doors closed to avoid cameras.

Digital Vulnerabilities And Evasion

Cyber forensic analysis followed a May 2024 search and seizure operation across five Refugee Reception Offices, conducted with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). Authorities imaged 237 digital items, including laptops, desktops, and cell phones.

Cell phone analysis revealed E-Wallet payments ranging from R500 to R3,000, linked to unlawful permit issuance.

Additional tactics included the use of dummy phones and non-RICA-registered numbers, asylum seekers sending payments to themselves and sharing OTPs with officials, and in-kind bribes such as covering private rent.

The probe also identified systemic abuse of regulatory categories. The SIU warned that deficiencies in post-issuance monitoring, particularly within the retirement visa stream requiring proof of roughly R37,000 monthly income, created opportunities for fraud.

The absence of clear adjudication guidelines and verification integration across departments was cited as a persistent risk factor.

External Actors And Fraud Networks

The SIU named several external figures accused of exploiting administrative weaknesses. Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s Permanent Residence Permit (PRP) was said to have been approved by an adjudicator affiliated with his church, which investigators described as “a clear conflict of interest.”

Supporting documentation included a financial independence letter signed by an accountant who admitted he was paid “merely for his signature.”

The SIU linked deposits totaling R8.9 million between 2020 and 2023 to a construction company registered under a spouse’s name, with references including “PRP.”

In a separate case, Mr Kudakwashe Mpofu was convicted after obtaining a fraudulent PRP in 2018 for R3,000. Despite document irregularities, Mpofu secured senior roles at the North-West Development Corporation, earning R900,000 per annum and later R1.6 million per annum. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment under correctional supervision, with an additional suspended sentence for fraud.

The SIU further flagged identity fraud involving passport applications and alleged DNA sample manipulation benefiting foreign nationals. Financial gains exceeding R181 million were traced to beneficiaries of fraudulent visa applications.

Reform Agenda And Accountability

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber endorsed the SIU’s interim report, stating that over the past 20 months, they have made major strides “holding corruption to account and driving digital transformation to close systemic loopholes.”

Schreiber said systemic reform and “digital transformation,” backed by “modern technology,” are the only ways to “close the space for corruption.”

He also confirmed that 20 Home Affairs officials had been dismissed since April last year. The SIU said it had made 275 criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The department is migrating toward an electronic travel authorization platform aimed at reducing paper-based vulnerabilities long criticized as slow and susceptible to bribery.