A former Home Affairs employee has been found guilty of 264 charges linked to the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals. Image: SAPS
Corruption
1Min
South Africa
Former Home Affairs employee found guilty of helping foreign nationals obtain fraudulent SA passports
A former Home Affairs employee has been found guilty of 264 charges linked to the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at the department’s Pietermaritzburg office.
Former Department of Home Affairs employee Tholithemba Malusi Mlondo, 34, has been found guilty of charges relating to corruption, fraud and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act.
Mlondo was convicted on Thursday in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
The charges stem from alleged activities that took place between February 2022 and July 2023, when a group of South African citizens allegedly facilitated the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at the Home Affairs office in Pietermaritzburg.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the unlawful activities were carried out outside normal operating hours, including during evenings, weekends and public holidays when the Home Affairs offices were officially closed.
The activities resulted in a case being opened and investigated by the Serious Corruption Investigation.
Mogale said Mlondo was found guilty on:
66 counts of fraud
66 counts of corruption
66 counts of contravening the Immigration Act
66 counts of contravening the Identification Act
Mlondo has been in custody since his arrest.
The matter was postponed to 13 November 2026 for a pre-sentencing report.
The accused was remanded in custody.
