The case of a department of home affairs official charged with fraud has been postponed to next month.
The 35-year-old man was arrested earlier this month at the department’s head office in the CBD on allegations of fraud and was taken to the Pretoria Central police station.
He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court last week where he was granted R2 000 bail.
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He is alleged to have fraudulently given foreign nationals in the country illegal citizenship by removing the markers that showed them to be illegal immigrants from the department’s database.
Home affairs spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said the official was arrested following a joint investigation by the police and the department’s counter-corruption branch.
“The official is alleged to have intentionally and unlawfully removed ‘illegal’ markers on the national population register (NPR) without following official processes. His actions resulted in certain foreign nationals who had been declared illegal gaining entry into the NPR unduly,” said Mokgola.
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He said the Immigration Act stated that: “Any civil servant who provides false or intentionally inaccurate or unauthorised documentation or benefit to an illegal immigrant, or facilitates such foreigner to disguise his/her identity or status or accept financial or other consideration to perform an act or exercise his/her discretion in terms of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment.”
The matter was postponed to 8 November to allow the state and defence to prepare for the trial.
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