Illegal Immigrant Caught in South Africa Posing as UN Representative

PRETORIA – A Tanzanian illegal masquerading as an employee of the United Nations appeared in court on Monday for fraud after allegedly posing as, among other things, the representative of a programme giving young South Africans opportunities abroad and the distributor of personal protective equipment.

The SA Police said in a statement that Dr Mort West McKenzie, 26, was arrested by the Hawks in Rustenburg and appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud and contravening the Disaster Management Act.

McKenzie, the statement said, was a Tanzanian national and did not even have a passport, and was not allowed to be in the country.

A Hawks investigation since March, after complaints against him were lodged, had shown that McKenzie had held several meetings lobbying for support for the fake UN programme, which volunteers could join by paying R1,500, the police said. To further convince the complainants to join, he said he was distributing masks for protection against COVID-19, and left them with six boxes to distribute in their communities.

McKenzie reportedly also masqueraded as a UN representative distributing personal protective equipment to Rustenburg municipality officials, in an attempt “to convince them to pay a sizable amount for his services.”

“McKenzie also managed to convince a Sandton businessman to procure surgical masks to the tune of R2 million for distribution to underprivileged communities. The Gauteng Hawks are dealing with the case and will be appearing in the Randburg court soon.”