MBABANE: The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says its investigation into the Department of Home Affairs has uncovered systemic corruption in which immigration permits and visas were effectively sold through organised syndicates involving officials and external actors, IOL News reported.

Reading from a prepared statement on Monday in Pretoria, Acting SIU Head Leonard Lekgetho said, the Special Investigating Unit has uncovered a disturbing reality; South Africa’s immigration system has been treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder.

“Among those highlighted by the SIU was popular charismatic preacher Shepherd Bushiri, now based in Malawi. The SIU said Bushiri’s Permanent Residence Permit was approved by an adjudicator who was a member of his church, ECG Ministries, describing this as a clear conflict of interest. Bushiri’s application was supported by what the SIU described as a fraudulent letter of financial independence signed by a chartered accountant who admitted he was paid merely for his signature,” reads the IOL report in part.