Pretoria High Court employee allegedly issuing documents to prevent deportation of foreigners
The Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation component conducted a search and seizure operation at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria following allegations that an employee was issuing fraudulent documents to illegal immigrants to prevent their deportation.
The operation was conducted on Tuesday, 13 May.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said it is alleged that the said employee has been issuing fraudulent notices of motion to undocumented foreign nationals to prevent their deportation to their countries of origin.
Mogale said the matter was formally reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in March 2025.
'This search and seizure operation specifically targeted one office and an individual believed to be central to the commission of these offences. Exhibits were seized for further investigation,' she said.
Meanwhile, in April, the Department of Home Affairs confirmed an increase in the number of illegal immigrants deported from South Africa, which is the highest in the last five years.
The number of deported illegal immigrants increased to 46 898 in the 2024/2025 financial year that ended on 31 March 2025.This number surged by 18% compared to the previous year's 39 672.
The Department said this is the highest number of deportations carried out in at least five years and is triple the number conducted in recent years.
The performance of South Africa's Department of Home Affairs over the past year exceeds the number of deportations conducted by France (22 000) and Germany (20 000) combined over the same period.
The total number of deportations for the past five years are as follows: 2020/2021: 14 859
2021/2022: 20 093
2022/2023: 22 560
2023/2024: 39 672
2024/2025: 46 898
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