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A senior government official in Mpumalanga has been arrested for allegedly being in the country illegally and in possession of fraudulently obtained identity documents.
He was detained by immigration officials at Pretoria Central Station on Tuesday after being questioned about how he obtained his South African citizenship.
A senior official close to the matter said the man, who claimed to have been born in Britain in the North West, had entered South Africa from Zimbabwe in the mid-1990s.
The source said it was embarrassing. “When you employ senior civil servants, you don’t just examine their qualifications, you also examine their ID to see that they are who they say they are … And here he is occupying [a] high-level position in public service … handling quite sensitive information. “
The official was asked to report to the central home office and was later arrested. “He will probably appear in Pretoria magistrates court [on Thursday]. “
Home Affairs spokesman Siya Qoza confirmed that the man was arrested by immigration officials on Tuesday.
“I can confirm that the man in question has been arrested [in connection with immigration] laws. But we will provide more details as they become available. “
