Police Say Government Official Living in South Africa Illegally for 25 Years

The head of department for Human Settlements in Mpumalanga, who has made statements in the media before on behalf of the province, has appeared in court after it was discovered he has been living in South Africa illegally for 25 years and claimed on three separate occasions to have been born in different places in South Africa.

Kebone Masange was arrested on Wednesday by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (HAWKS) and Home Affairs officials, following a probe to verify his status in the country and appeared in court in Pretoria. A former municipal manager in Newcastle, KZN, he has been charged with fraud and contravention of the Immigration Act.

In a statement, the HAWKS said an investigation was launched after it emerged that Masange had allegedly been in South Africa illegally since 1995 and was from Zimbabwe. Masange was in the news in February when he reportedly tried to influence the outcome of a forensic report.

According to the national population register, Masange was issued with three different identity documents on different dates, two of them as a SA citizen and the third as an exempted Zimbabwe citizen granted in 1997. He allegedly also helped his wife get permanent residence.

To qualify for a Southern African Development Community amnesty, however, an applicant needs to have continuously lived in South Africa since July 1991.

In one document he allegedly claimed to have been born in Johannesburg, in another in Pietermaritzburg and a third time he said he was born in Lethlhabile, Brits.

“Again in May 1997 through misrepresentation he was issued with another identity document as an RSA citizen but this time he claimed he was born in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.”

Masange reportedly managed to assist his then wife to obtain permanent residence status in January 2007.

The HAWKS said the accused was at some stage summoned to the home affairs offices for an interview after the three different ID numbers attributed to him were picked up on the system.

He then deposed a sworn affidavit stating that he was born in Letlhabile, Brits.

“Masange has clearly misrepresented himself three times to the department and he also failed to surrender both identity documents that he obtained through misrepresentation during the 2010 amnesty that was granted to Zimbabwean nationals,” reads the statement.

He has been released on a warning and is expected back in court on 11 September, pending further investigation.

– Additional reporting by SAnews.gov.za