FRAUDULENT MARRIAGE RACKET UNCOVERED IN KZN

Finally, someone with the balls to say "enough is enough'! I remember a couple of years ago there was a website that you could go to (I forget now what it was called), where people were urged to check out if they had been "married" or not. The story also involved 'someone' in the Department of Home affairs, but also included thousands of ID copies that had been made. Suddenly all these young girls were married. If memory serves me correctly it had something to do with Pakistan in particular. I remember dutifully entering my details into the appropriate spaces and waiting for what seemed like an age for the answer to come up, and then breathing a huge sigh of relief when I discovered that I was still happily single.

I must say though, that although I have never had the desire to enter the realm of matrimony, I can sort of understand why most people do and can just imagine a young girl, excited half to death about her upcoming nuptials, having dreamed of meeting her man and settling down and having the 2 point whatever required children, her whole life and then getting to the point where she is told "sorry honey, you can't get married, because you already are"!

Now that would make a good movie, either a thriller (well you have all the low life and underworld paying bribes etc) or an amusing comedy where the law takes a stand, just in the nick of time and her previous marriage is annulled just before the 'real' ceremony is about to take place, thereby saving the day! Damn! I'm in the wrong profession!

Jokes aside though, this is reprehensible - in my opinion, this is nothing short of identity fraud - using someone else name, life and circumstance in order to gain unauthorised entry into the country in order to perform acts of crime, is a crime in itself and those caught, both local and foreign, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I know I would have been thoroughly disgusted to have learnt that I was indeed married not only to a complete stranger, but also one that had nothing but destruction to someone's way of life.

The time to take a stand is now - we need to report all crime, one at a time.

Fraudulent marriage racket uncovered in KZN

Lyse Comins

February 28 2007 at 04:45AM

Hundreds of fraudulent marriage certificates are thought to have been issued to a foreign national crime syndicate by a Pinetown home affairs official who was arrested at her office on Tuesday on charges of fraud and corruption.

KwaZulu-Natal home affairs manager Monde Maqula said the arrest was just "one of many that are to follow" during the department's ongoing investigations into the issuing of false marriage certificates to foreigners living illegally in South Africa. Maqula said that among the suspects were home affairs officials and clerics, who were taking bribes of between R150 and R200 for falsifying marriage certificates.

Police spokesperson Thembi Dube said investigators suspected that the 47-year-old woman had been issuing false marriage certificates to a syndicate that had bribed her to provide the service since 2005.

Police were investigating the syndicate and were hoping to effect further arrests soon. "She has been issuing fraudulent marriage certificates by punching them into the computer system, but the documents do not comply with the (official) requirements. Some spaces are not completed," she said.

Dube said police suspected that the woman had been colluding with foreign criminals who wanted to "get married" in order to apply for permanent residence to remain in the country and commit crime. She said police had received several complaints from people who had suddenly found themselves married to complete strangers.

The woman resisted arrest and was "shocked and aggressive" during the process. Police had to calm her down before taking her to the Pinetown police station, where she was charged. "It is definitely a syndicate, but at home affairs there is only one suspect right now. We are hoping to make more arrests," Dube said.

The woman will apply for bail, but we will weigh the value of the crime and if it is too complicated, we will oppose bail," she said. Maqula said the arrest of the woman was just one of many to come. "This process is just one of the many investigations that are being initiated by some of my officials in KwaZulu-Natal and they (suspects) include ministers of religion, officials from home affairs and other people.

"A number of Nigerians, Pakistanis and other foreign nationals have been illegally married by officials and ministers of religion to get South African citizenship. This means that they have access to health care and social grant benefits by fraudulent marriage.

It poses a risk to the security of the country and there are financial implications," Maqula said. "I have a bundle of not less than 10 fraudulent marriages involving one or two of these marriage officers in KwaZulu-Natal. There are (clerics) who have all the forms and are (issuing fraudulent marriage certificates).

The certificates then get sent to Home Affairs and when you dig down (you find that the people married) are foreign criminals. "As provincial home affairs manager in KwaZulu-Natal, I won't see our country being dragged down in the mud by certain individuals. Enough is enough. We need to stand up. "I have the names (of errant clerics) and will engage with the various denominations to highlight my concerns.

These culprits must either be struck off the roll (of marriage officers) and/or arrested. I'm committed and determined to clean them up, one by one. All those individuals who are irresponsible and greedy and bring the name of the department into disrepute must be arrested," he said.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on February 28, 2007