Leballo Ellias Maqalika
The corruption case against two senior immigration officials of the Department of Home Affairs in Bloemfontein has seen one sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment while the other awaits her fate.
The convicted culprit, Leballo Ellias Maqalika (51), was sentenced on 12 December in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, Free State spokesperson for the Hawks, said Maqalika pleaded guilty to the charges of corruption relating to bribery. His co-accused, Goitsemang Dolly Sediti (40), will know her fate during a trial set to be heard from 26 to 29 February.
The pair were arrested by the Bloemfontein Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team during May and July in 2022. The police acted upon receiving reliable information, and subsequently, after a foreign national blew the whistle about the officials’ alleged bribery activity.
“Information was received about the senior immigration officer who demanded R8 000 from a foreign national for the release of his brother, who had been arrested whilst applying for asylum at the Department of Home Affairs. The official was arrested during an entrapment operation and charged. His co-accused, Sediti, was arrested at a later stage,” said Matoti.
Both Siditi and Maqalika were granted bail of R5 000 each.
