Alfred Ubisi (31) appeared in the KwaMhlanga Magistrate’s Court on corruption charges on Friday, May 16, and was remanded in custody pending his next court appearance on May 26 for bail application.

This follows his arrest the previous day after he had allegedly bought a South African ID from a home affairs official who charged him R20 000.

The official, Violet Mabena (57), was arrested at her workplace at the KwaMhlanga Home Affairs offices on November 11, 2024.

Her arrest followed investigations by the Middelburg-based Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation Unit.

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The situation was instigated when Ubisi allegedly approached Mabena in September 2021 and negotiated with her to arrange an ID for him.

“He approached the home affairs official and confessed that he was born in South Africa by a Zimbabwean father and Mozambican mother. He was not able to obtain a South African ID through legal means,” said Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Colonel Magonseni Nkosi.

Nkosi said Mabena put a price tag of R20 000 on the deal and Ubisi allegedly paid R3 000 upfront as a deposit.

“According to information, the home affairs official arrived at the suspect’s residence with the fingerprints form and ink pad. She took the suspect’s fingerprints and completed the names reflected on the birth certificate of a person unknown to the suspect. It is alleged that after fingerprints were taken, Mabena was paid R3 000,” said Nkosi.

“Four months later, in December 2021, Mabena came to the suspect’s place with the identity document bearing the suspect’s photo, but somebody else’s names and surname,” added Nkosi.

He said the Hawks received information from a reliable source that an investigation was initiated which resulted in the arrest of Mabena, who was granted R3 000 bail in the KwaMhlanga Magistrate’s Court on November 11 last year.

She is scheduled to appear in the same court again on June 4.

Further investigations led the court to issue a warrant of arrest for Ubisi, who was arrested on Thursday, May 15, and charged with fraud and corruption.