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S. African immigration officials suspended
Source: Agencies |
December 11, 2009, Friday
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SOUTH Africa has suspended dozens of immigration officials being investigated for giving South African citizenship to foreigners, mainly from Pakistan, the government said yesterday.
The move comes months after Britain started requiring visas from South Africans, saying terrorists and criminals were exploiting the availability of stolen or forged South African passports to gain access to other countries.
"The fraudulent registration of births of foreigners constitutes a serious threat to the national security of our country," South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement yesterday.
She said the scheme allowed "fraudsters" to apply for South African passports that could be used for "nefarious activities abroad."
She said that South African investigations would ensure that all those implicated "face the full might of the law."
South Africa said nearly a year ago that steps had been taken to prevent corrupt officials from issuing bogus passports.
Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said yesterday that 59 officials have been suspended in the past two weeks for issuing South African birth certificates to foreigners. He said it is not clear how many such certificates have been issued nor whether any have been used to get a passport.
He said most recipients were adults from Pakistan and he said it appeared to be the work of "criminal syndicates."
In February, Britain said it was requiring visas for South Africans, who previously did not need them. British security and intelligence officials warned of an increasing risk of Islamic extremists using South Africa as a transit point and venue to plan plots.
The move comes months after Britain started requiring visas from South Africans, saying terrorists and criminals were exploiting the availability of stolen or forged South African passports to gain access to other countries.
"The fraudulent registration of births of foreigners constitutes a serious threat to the national security of our country," South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement yesterday.
She said the scheme allowed "fraudsters" to apply for South African passports that could be used for "nefarious activities abroad."
She said that South African investigations would ensure that all those implicated "face the full might of the law."
South Africa said nearly a year ago that steps had been taken to prevent corrupt officials from issuing bogus passports.
Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said yesterday that 59 officials have been suspended in the past two weeks for issuing South African birth certificates to foreigners. He said it is not clear how many such certificates have been issued nor whether any have been used to get a passport.
He said most recipients were adults from Pakistan and he said it appeared to be the work of "criminal syndicates."
In February, Britain said it was requiring visas for South Africans, who previously did not need them. British security and intelligence officials warned of an increasing risk of Islamic extremists using South Africa as a transit point and venue to plan plots.
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