Two more people have been arrested in separate fraud operations linked to the Department of Home Affairs, bringing the total number of corruption-related arrests for May to six.

The arrests follow a coordinated effort between the department’s Counter Corruption and Security Services branch and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, as officials step up the fight against misconduct in immigration and civic services.

A naturalised foreign national was arrested at the Harrison Home Affairs office in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 12 May. Investigators allege he falsely claimed to be the father of five foreign children, allowing them to be fraudulently registered on the National Population Register using a South African identity document.

In a separate case on 11 May, a senior immigration officer was arrested at the White River Home Affairs office in White River after an authorised entrapment operation. The official allegedly demanded payment from a Mozambican national in exchange for returning identity and travel documents.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said the arrests show the department’s cleanup campaign is gaining momentum. He warned that corrupt officials and those who work with them will be held accountable.

“We are now securing dismissals, arrests and prosecutions on a near-weekly basis as Home Affairs ramps up our cleanup operation,” Schreiber said.

“Every crooked official and complicit member of the public must know that it is now only a matter of time until their turn arrives.”

He said the department will continue rooting out corruption through disciplinary action and criminal prosecutions, adding that “the days of sleeping soundly are over for the corrupt”.

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