A Home Affairs adjudicator earning R25,000 per month built a mansion and tarred a road leading to her home, according to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which says the construction formed part of unexplained wealth accumulated through alleged visa corruption.
Detailing the extent of enrichment uncovered in its investigation into the Department of Home Affairs, acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho said: “Another official accumulated so much wealth that she built a mansion and paved a road leading into her home on a monthly salary of R25,000.”
“The official built a tarred road to her house. This is just to show how this official was soliciting money, with a salary of R25,000,” he added.
According to an SIU timeline presented during the briefing, the official was appointed in April 2014 as an adjudicator within the department’s Visa Adjudication System (VAS), earning a net salary of R21,044.60 at the time.
By 2017, unexplained deposits allegedly began flowing into her account.
In 2018, she purchased land for R877,200 in cash and built a large double-storey house on the property. She also financed a vehicle valued at R662,723.
In October 2019, a construction company owned and controlled by her husband was registered. The SIU said R185,000 was later deposited into the company’s account, referencing Permanent Residence Permit (PRP) applications.
Between 2017 and 2024, the official allegedly received direct cash deposits totalling R2,574,640. In addition, suspicious funds amounting to R8,918,351, linked to visa fraud activities, flowed through her husband’s construction company.
WhatsApp messages and banking records allegedly revealed evidence of a pay-for-approval scheme between officials.
“Their modus operandi was simple: applications were sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval, and once approved, money flowed almost immediately,” Lekgetho said.
The SIU further revealed that an internal audit flagged the same official for approving 459 Nigerian study visas originating from the Cape Town VFS Centre between 2021 and 2023.
The findings form part of an investigation authorised under Proclamation 154 of 2024 into serious maladministration in visa issuance between 2004 and 2024.
Lekgetho described the adjudicators as a coordinated “nefarious syndicate” responsible for the lawful processing of visa applications who instead engaged in systemic corruption and illicit enrichment.
“These findings show that corruption in the visa system is not incidental; it is organised, deliberate, and devastating to public trust,” he said.
