A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022.
A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022.
In June last year (2023), Chris Campbell went to see Paul O’Sullivan of O’Sullivan Brosnan & Associates, who took the case under the auspices of Forensics for Justice. O’Sullivan prepared a criminal complaint and laid a charge of corruption and extortion at Sandringham SAPS from where the case was transferred to the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI).
However, “The Hawks appear to have just sat on this case since it was opened,” Campbell says.
“It took some time for them to actually assign a Warrant Officer (28th August 2023). Then on 19th October 2023, I was informed that it had been re-assigned to Warrant Officer M E Rasekhokha. Since then I have received one call from him. His tone wasn’t very encouraging and it seemed to me that he believed that it was just as the DHA employees claimed ‘Our emails were hacked’!
“I queried him about following up on the two bank account numbers that I had provided and suggested that these would show the magnitude of the crime but he told me that the FNB account number for one of the accounts didn’t look real and so he was not going to pursue that one. However he didn’t know about the Discovery Bank Account so would investigate that one.
“I’ve heard nothing since and don’t hold any expectations especially when so much time has passed…”
In a sworn affidavit made by Campbell, he describes how a Home Affairs official had told him he would need to pay R30 000 per application to get the process moving and receive the visas in seven to 10 days.
“I replied via Whatsapp and asked if a lower price can be negotiated. He replied saying that they would be able to make it R20 000 per application if it was an immediate payment.”
Once the method of payment was agreed on, the official sent through the account details for the bribe. It was a Discovery Bank account.
The Home Affairs employee then told Campbell that he had to convince the officials above him to accept this way of payment.
“He then asked me to do an immediate payment of R20 000 as a down payment. He requested this so he could bargain with his senior officials and then I was to bring the outstanding amount the following week.”
When Campbell informed the Home Affairs employee that he was having issues logging in, the official “then replied stating that the ‘guys’ were annoyed with him at that point as he had made them wait at the office until late” (on a Friday).
The “scammer” then deleted the Whatsapp conversations but a copy had already been made in order to secure

evidence.
Campbell then decided to seek an urgent police investigation as he feared that if he did not pay, he would not receive the visas and that he would be staying in South Africa illegally. Later, a visa agent was able to confirm that all the Campbell couple’s paperwork was still at Home Affairs, but in the stack still to be processed.
Meanwhile, Campbell is still waiting for the visas to be issued. “We have actually been able to leave the country and return, purely because the situation is so well known that the border officials allow it to be done on production of our receipts. However other officials like banks will not allow accounts to be opened without a valid current visa and it’s even difficult to renew the car licence.”
O’Sullivan has even taken up the case with the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa. “We did the case pro bono, to see if we could get something rolling for these pensioners. There are too many cases like this,” he wrote. Still, Campbell is waiting…
BizNews has written to Hawks boss Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya to ask for an update on the investigation.
Meanwhile O’Sullivan’s Forensics for Justice, have launched an application in the Pretoria High Court, to have the appointment of General Lebeya set aside.
According to O’Sullivan large swathes of the criminal justice system remain captured or populated by lazy and unethical officers.
“Pockets of the system still work and are populated by good quality professional police officials. But the pockets that do work properly are getting smaller and further apart,” he says.
He cites a recent murder case, where the investigating officer was so incompetent, that when he went with a colleague to request a new investigating officer, they were met with stiff opposition, from an incompetent Colonel, who clearly did not understand the job herself.
Commenting on the case of Chris Campbell, O’Sullivan stresses that the corruption within Home Affairs is so deep-rooted, it will take a very long time to get it working normal again.
“The very idea of introducing VFS into the system, as a middleman, with no decision-making process, only to handle the collection of documentation and biometrics, was to remove public face-to-face contact, and thereby remove the ability of a home affairs official to request a bribe. Now, the Home Affairs officials simply sit on everything, to await an official complaint, then the bribery mechanism kicks in.”
O’Sullivan says the meta data of the e-mails from the allegedly corrupt home affairs officials, proves that the e-mails originated from within Home Affairs. He therefore doesn’t buy the fobbing off of the corruption on the complainant’s email having been hacked.
When asked if it is likely to improve any time soon, O’Sullivan says: “It will ONLY change with a change of government, as there is no longer any part of government that functions well and free of corruption. V.5331

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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