Richard Pillay – South Africa Global Indian Correspondent

Human Smuggling is a major problem and South Africa has been identified as a Source, Destination and Transit country. South Africa has failed to effectively deal with this problem and this article reveals how SA passports can be obtained and used.

 South Africa has long been identified as a Source, Transit and Destination country for both human traffickers and human smugglers. Human Traffickers and human smugglers are criminals and all of then operate in organized formations. These criminal syndicates cannot exist or operate if they do not enjoy the protection of law enforcement officials from Immigration, and protection from certain political leaders and politicians and other government officials including the police.

As the above matters are a well know and well established set of facts, what then inhibits or prevents the most senior government officials from acting against such human traffickers and human smugglers? It is one of the questions that each reader needs to examine in depth and draw their own conclusions.

POTENTIAL REASONS -

Low morale among law enforcement personnel, unsatisfactory conditions of employment, low salaries of junior employees, incompetent supervisors, corrupt or easily corruptible senior personnel, rules and regulations that are not clear, inadequate tools of the trade, no prospects or very little prospects for promotion, male sexual predators in supervisory positions who employ females in exchange for sexual activities, untrained personnel, employment of personnel and then neglecting to train them, inadequate controls, and a few more factors are a direct cause of law enforcement in South Africa being unable to deal with human traffickers and human smugglers and some other criminals.

The factors listed in the above paragraph are to be found in the South African law enforcement agencies and they consist of the Department of Home Affairs – Immigration Unit, Counter Corruption Unit, South African Police Services, and the State Security Agency, the national Prosecuting Authority and to some extent within the Judiciary.

 Illegal immigrants that enter South Africa do so because of the following factors, corrupt or easily corruptible immigration and police officials from Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The incorrect deployment of people to manage the borders of the country that are reachable from Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho.

CORRUPTION FROM THE CORE-

Corrupt immigration and police officials at other ports of entry in South Africa. The inability of the Department of Home Affairs even after they are provided with information to act decisively in dealing with corrupt and incompetent officials of that department. The inability of the Department of Home Affairs to identify corrupt officials among themselves. Their counter corruption department has lost the battle to deal with corrupt officials.

 The inability of the Department of Home Affairs to manage its archiving system, as files of illegal immigrants are missing and cannot be traced.

The inability or unwillingness of the department of Home Affairs to manage its issuing of visas in several countries especially Pakistan and Nigeria where for the past 15 years they have issued visas to people that claim to be welders and such people are unable to weld, when they arrive in South Africa they work as shop assistants, human smugglers and human traffickers or street hawkers and inevitably manufacture and sell drugs as their primary source of income.

Nationals from countries that include but is not limited to China, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi, Senegal, DRC, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh and Cameroon flock to South Africa and enter the country illegally on a daily basis.

The following subject is a clear illustration of a human smuggler that now holds a South African identity document and a South African passport. Enabling documents that he obtained in the manner and time frames stipulated in this article.

ANJUM RAZA -

The person’s name is Anjum Raza who was born in a town named Jhang in the Punjab province in Pakistan. His father’s name is Rehmat Masih and his mother is Yasmin Rehmat. The subject did not reach grade 10 and he does not have any skills that South Africa needed or needs. As he was a Pakistani citizen he was unemployed while he was living in Pakistan. At no stage was he involved in any political activism nor was he harassed in any way that may entitle him to apply for political asylum in South Africa. He speaks the following languages Punjabi, Urdu and learnt English in South Africa.

He is currently married to a Pakistani national. His spouse is living in Pakistan and her name Roma Raza. He got married to Roma on 31 March 2008. His previous marital status is that he was married to a South African national named Johanna Akanyang Jakkals this marriage occurred on 28-04-2004 and he divorced her on 04-08-2005. This Johanna Akanyang Jakkals is now reported to be deceased.

Anjum Raza applied for a Permanent residence permit and he was issued with a permit Number 1939/04 which was authorized by the Department of Home Affairs official named JP Buthelezi, the said JP Buthelezi issued this permit in clear contravention of all Home Affairs regulations and procedures. This permit was also co-signed by the one Department of Home Affairs official named E Mokoena. Mokoena was a junior official who reported to JP Buthelezi. After Raza received this permit he did not adhere to any of the conditions stipulated on the permit.

 Anjum then applied for a South African identity document and his application was approved and it was issued on 13-09- 2005.His SA Identity Document was collected from the head office of the Department of Home Affairs by one George Mathloporo and then handed to Anjum Raza. The said Mathloporo was employed by the Department of Home Affairs at Director level and he was subsequently arrested and charged in Pietermaritzburg CAS 715/06/2006. George Mathloporo was dismissed from the Department of Home Affairs for bribery and corruption, he is now a Bishop in a Christian church that he owns and operates in the Gauteng Province.

Anjum is currently engaged in the following activities; Being at the Harrison Street Home Affairs offices almost on a daily basis from 15.00 to meet with Johan Heunning, a black male named Bobo and a white female named Small and a coloured female named Naomi with whom the subject had, had an intimate relationship and a black male named Sipho. The above mentioned people all work as immigration officers in the department of Home Affairs except for Naomi who is a personal assistant. He solicits illegal Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants and charges them money ranging from R10 000 to R55 000.00 for obtaining some legitimate documents acquired fraudulently. He also charges up to R70 000.00 for a combination of documents he can procure illegally by violating all existing Home Affairs regulations and procedures. He is bribing some Home Affairs Officials to procure documents that applicants are not legally entitled to.

EVIDENCE -

All these immigration officers are fully aware that Anjum Raza obtained his South African documents illegally.

 The time line involving Anjum Raza is as follows:

 1. He arrived in South Africa in March 2004

 2. He married Johanna Akanyang Jakkals on 28-04-2004

 3. He applied for a Permanent Residence permit in May 2004

 4. He obtained permanent residence on 13-07-2004

 5. He obtained non citizenship Identity Document in 2004.

 6. He obtained permission from the Pakistan High Commission to apply for SA citizenship on 10-01-2005

 7. In his permit from the Pakistan his birth place is listed as Sargodha

 8. He divorced Johanna Jakkals on 04-08-2005.

 9. He obtained South African Identity Book that was issued on 13-09-2005

 10. The time frame from his arrival then his marriage and subsequent divorce is 18 months

 11. From the time of his arrival to him obtaining SA citizenship is exactly 19 month.

This matter was brought to the attention of the Department of Home Affairs and the information was provided to them in 2013. In any event the Department was supposed to have the original documents and copies in their archives.

The following action should have been taken by the Department of Home Affairs Law Enforcement Unit:

1. Anjum Raza should be arrested without any delay.
2. His 3 cell phones should be seized and down loaded
3.  His driver’s licence that was obtained on the basis of a fraudulently acquired SA Identity document should be seized and cancelled.
4.  His SA Passport number 454522563 should be seized and cancelled.
5.  His SA citizenship identity Document with number 7710156109081 should be seized and cancelled.
6.  His SA non-citizen Identity Document should be seized and cancelled
7.  He is still in possession of a Pakistani Passport

 As it is well known to immigration officials he should be arrested when he is entering Harrison Street Home Affairs offices in Johannesburg while being in possession of application documents from other illegal immigrants.

Copies of the following documents were handed to the Department of Home Affairs as some claim that his file is missing from the archives of the Department. South African passport, and South African Drivers licence based upon his presentation of documents acquired fraudulently.

• Particulars from Population Register Form 83/BI-5 Number A4229856
• Letter from Pakistan High Commission that states no objection to Subjects application dated 10-01-05
• Permanent Residence permit number: MKS1939/04 issued by J P Buthelezi on 13-07-2005 Control Number A32846
•  Temporary drivers Licence with identity number 7710156109081
•  Traffic register Number Certificate 402428LBT003 Number J9449054
•  Marriage Certificate Number J996916 – reflecting names of Raza Anjum and Jakkals Akanyang Johanna dated 28-04-2004 – Hand written
•  South African Identity Document of Jakkals Akanyang Johanna 7502010789087
•  South African identity Document of Raza Anjum 7710156109081
•  South African Marriage Certificate BI-5 reflecting names of Raza Anjum and Jakkals Akanyang Johanna – printed
•  Divorce decrees in Case no 2005/14418 reflecting names of Raza Anjum and Raza Akanyang Johanna (Born Jakkals) allegedly from Witwatersrand Local Division from the registrar of The high Court.

 The crimes that Anjum Raza committed are:

1. Being an illegal immigrant

 ii. Fraud – Instruments Used – made verbal and written declaration

 iii. Alternately theft by misrepresenting himself as an immigration practitioner to wit by obtaining money from other illegal immigrants and claiming to be a legitimate immigration practitioner. Anjum Raza is indeed a flight risk as he proved to be in a previous matter where he was charged criminally, he fled to Pakistan to avoid appearing in court.

 iv. When he is arrested he should be refused bail and in court any bail application should be vigorously opposed, additionally when he is arrested he should not be detained in any station in or around Johannesburg due to factors that include his involvement with several members of the South African Police Service.

 People like the said Anjum Raza are able to travel to any part of the world committing crimes using South African passports and claiming to be SA citizens. It is people like these that have close links to human traffickers, human smugglers and other criminals including terrorists.

Raza has demonstrated the he is able to breach all the administrative and security procedures within the Department of Home Affairs and obtain genuine SA documents through bribing and corrupting Home Affairs officials. What then is the value of a South African passport and does the SA passport represent a security risk to other countries? Indian Security services like CBI, RAW and others should take careful note, if they too fail to take note they do so at their own risk as many people who obtained their SA passports in a similar manner to Anjum Raza travel to India as their first destination point, then to the USA, Germany, Canada, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Italy.

My question is simple- with all the evidence and international condemnation for human trafficking - Why have we refused to take action?

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