POLICE in Durban have arrested three individuals accused of orchestrating a fake marriage scheme to help foreign nationals fraudulently obtain South African citizenship. Authorities allege the suspects produced counterfeit marriage documents, allowing foreigners to pose as married to South Africans, facilitating their path to citizenship.
The arrests followed a raid on Monday when police seized application forms, ID copies, and other incriminating evidence. One of the suspects was reportedly caught attempting to destroy key documents as officers entered. ‘When they come, they come as a married man to a South African woman. When they are here, they will divorce that woman,’ explained regional police spokesman Colonel Robert Netshiunda to News24. ‘By that time, they got citizenship, so they brought more people. That’s the scam they were allegedly running.’
Exploiting stolen IDs
Police believe that many of the stolen IDs belonged to local women unaware of the scam. The fraudulent IDs and marriage certificates were allegedly used to create visas and secure citizenship for foreigners, effectively bypassing legitimate Home Affairs procedures. The operation, located in an inconspicuous building on a suburban street in Durban, reportedly functioned as a ‘clandestine home affairs office,’ providing services from fake marriages to forged visas.
Colonel Netshiunda told national broadcaster SABC that the set-up was so sophisticated that it may have involved a government insider. ‘They were facilitating marriages, visas, and other services that Home Affairs would provide to South Africans,’ he noted, adding that police are currently analysing computers and hard drives seized from the scene for further evidence.
National context and concerns over immigration
South Africa, home to the continent’s largest economy, attracts migrants and jobseekers from across Africa, and to a lesser extent, from Europe and Asia. The issue of immigration, however, has fuelled tensions in recent years, with anti-immigration protests and sporadic violence targeting foreign nationals. Immigration became a contentious topic in the lead-up to South Africa’s general election in May, with groups like the Patriotic Alliance, now part of the coalition government, accused of amplifying anti-immigrant sentiment.
While it remains unclear how many individuals were involved in this alleged marriage scheme or the countries of origin of those implicated, police are deepening their investigation into what they describe as a ‘sophisticated operation.’ Investigators have yet to make further arrests but have reportedly identified a potential insider within the Home Affairs department.
