The seven accused, Mr Philani Mmeli Zaca (41), Mr Fumani “Guru” Hlayisi (35), Ms Zime Anita Shange (38), Ms Bongiwe Kubheka (48), Ms Thandiwe Pretty Khwela (43), Mr Lungisani Siyanda Mzobe (32), and Lindokuhle Bongumusa Mpanza (31) briefly appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes court sitting in the Durban Magistrates court following their arrests by the Serious Corruption Investigation component of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, based Pretoria in the ongoing operation that began on 14 June 2025 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Colonel Katlego Mogale Spokesperson for Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said
the execution operation emanates from a complaint from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) relating to the issuance of fraudulent passports to undocumented foreign nationals.
The allegations reported serious offences include corruption, fraud, and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act that took place between February 2020 and July 2023, wherein group of South African citizens allegedly facilitated the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at DHA offices in Durban, specifically the Commercial Street branch.
These unlawful activities took place outside of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the DHA offices were officially closed.
Preliminary investigations by the DHA confirmed that the criminal activities were indeed conducted on off hours where the local citizens offered R300 to R1,000 in exchange for their cooperation especially at DHA offices in Isipingo, Durban Central and Eshowe resulting in a case being opened for investigation by Serious Corruption Investigation.
The seven accused appeared on Tuesday, 17 June 2025, in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and the case was postponed to Friday, 20 June 2025 for legal aid and formal bail application. The accused were remanded in custody.
The DPCI is not ruling out the possibility of more suspects being arrested.