Foreigners who assumed identities of SA citizens found guilty

Four foreign nationals who assumed the names and identities of South African citizens have been found guilty of fraud and corruption.

Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said Tausi Majani Kahwere, 25, John Majani Kahwere, 44, who are both Congolese, were convicted by the Durban magistrate's court on Monday.

Morshed Alam, 25, and Saiful Islam Sujon, 43, who are Bangladeshi nationals, were found guilty on Tuesday. A South African, Oliver Whendle Hurriparsad, 42, was also convicted, Mogale said.

This came after a lengthy investigation by the Hawks and the department of home affairs' counter corruption team in KwaZulu-Natal.

“It was reported that during 2021, a department of home affairs official, Judy Zuma, operating with a foreign nationals syndicate, colluded with South African citizens to assist foreign nationals from Pakistan, Bangladesh and DRC Congo to obtain South African passports by using their identity documents and biometrics,” said Mogale.

The foreign nationals fraudulently replaced the owner's photos with theirs and assumed the names of the South African citizens.

Zuma has since pleaded guilty and was convicted on 1,159 counts of fraud, corruption, contravention of the Immigration Act and contravention of the Identification Act.

She will be sentenced on April 5.

Mogale said the Congolese duo will be sentenced on Friday while the other trio will be sentenced on May 21.

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