Home Affairs Secures Two More Arrests in Corruption Crackdown

 The South African Department of Home Affairs has announced the arrest of two additional suspects in separate anti-corruption operations, bringing the total number of arrests linked to Home Affairs-related fraud and corruption cases in May 2026 to six.

According to the department, the arrests were carried out through joint operations involving investigators from the Counter Corruption and Security Services branch and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.

In the first operation, a naturalised foreign national was arrested at the Harrison Home Affairs office in Johannesburg on 12 May 2026. Authorities said the suspect allegedly falsely claimed paternity of five foreign children, leading to their fraudulent registration on the National Population Register using a naturalised South African identity document.

In a separate operation at the White River Home Affairs office on 11 May 2026, a senior immigration officer was arrested on corruption charges following an authorised entrapment operation.

The department alleged that the official demanded payment before returning identity and travel documents belonging to a Mozambican national.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said the department was intensifying efforts to eliminate corruption within immigration and civic services systems.

“We are now securing dismissals, arrests and prosecutions on a near-weekly basis as Home Affairs ramps up our cleanup operation,” Schreiber said. He warned that corrupt officials and collaborators would continue to face arrest and prosecution as the crackdown accelerates.