A Home Affairs official who allegedly issued a fraudulent passport to a Bangladeshi national who has become known as “Lebogang from Bangladesh’ was nabbed on Monday.
Last month, officials did a double take when a man from Bangladesh tried to leave the country using a passport with his picture and the name Lebogang Ndlovu.
Fahim Kazi went viral as “Lebogang from Bangladesh” after he was arrested on 12 May.
Spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs, Siya Qoza, said the female Home Affairs official who allegedly issued the false passport is based at the Benoni office, reported The Mercury.
Qoza said the official was caught during a multi-disciplinary operation by the Department of Home Affairs Counter Corruption Branch together with the Hawks and law enforcement agencies.
She was scheduled to appear at the Benoni Magistrates’ Court for a bail hearing.
The official has been suspended and her disciplinary hearing is scheduled to take place this week, he said.
“If she is denied bail, the Home Affairs Department will arrange with the Department of Correctional Services for the hearing to be held at their premises.”
He said at the time of Kazi’s arrest, Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the clampdown on the use of fraudulent South African documents was bearing fruit.
Motsoaledi said this was based on the fact that the department knew which corrupt official issued the fraudulent passport as she had been on the radar for a while.
Motsoaledi urged South Africans to stop selling their identities to foreign nationals.
“If you sell identity, two things will happen. Firstly, we will arrest you. Secondly, you will not be able to access services in the country,” he warned.