The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has welcomed the sentence imposed on a former Home Affairs official by the Durban Commercial Crime Court.
Judy Zuma was sentenced to an effective 12 years imprisonment this week. She was part of a syndicate which delivered fraudulent passports for reward to foreign nationals who did not qualify for the documents.
The Minister described the sentence as a breakthrough in the fight against organised corruption.
“The message sent by this conviction is crystal clear: if you engage in corruption, we will find you and we will pursue you until you are locked up. We will not rest until we have cleansed the scourge of corruption from the face of Home Affairs,” Schreiber said.
The Minister said the sentence must signal a new culture of zero-tolerance towards corruption.
“The fight against corruption in this department, as demonstrated by the serious nature of the issues raised in this case, is particularly urgent given that Home Affairs sits at the heart of our national security apparatus,” Schreiber said.
The sentence imposed on Zuma translates into an effective 12 years of direct imprisonment, with another 24 years suspended.
She was originally arrested in a sting operation after she tried to bribe a Home Affairs Counter Corruption officer with R10 000.
The court confirmed that Zuma, who was convicted for multiple offences, was part of a syndicate issuing fraudulent passports to foreign nationals who did not qualify for the documents.
Zuma was found to have processed 192 passports between 28 May and 12 June 2021 for foreign nationals who did not qualify to have them. She was paid R4 000 for each passport. She left the department in December 2021, following an internal disciplinary process.
The department said all the affected passports have been red-flagged, meaning that anyone who tries to use these fraudulent documents at a port of entry will be immediately arrested.
“So far, two foreign nationals have already been locked away, serving time for their involvement in this corrupt scheme. Another two were sentenced to four years imprisonment [on Friday],” said the department.
To improve the security of travel documents, the department in 2022 introduced a requirement that passports be activated via fingerprints at the office of application. This means that passports can only be used after the owner has validated them with their own fingerprints.
It is alleged that Zuma was recruited into this scheme by another former Home Affairs official, Zima Shange, who was sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment in October 2023.
The Minister said the crackdown on both officials and foreign nationals involved in the syndicate strengthened his resolve to support the work of the Counter-Corruption Branch of the department as the successful convictions demonstrate that the “cancer of corruption can be defeated”.
“I am repulsed by the actions of Zuma and other members of such syndicates, who cheapen our documents, threaten our security, and undermine the work done by committed Home Affairs officials,” Schreiber said. – SAnews.gov.za
