ANN7 (DStv 405) on Monday evening at 18:00 exposed massive corruption at South Africa's department of home affairs in a special TV expose.
The ANN7 special investigation revealed how migrants in the country are abused and taken advantage of by home affairs officials, demanding bribes ranging from R50 to hundreds of rand and even cooldrinks in return for papers and to be moved out of the slow moving, "no bribes" line at Marabastad.
ANN7 reporter Kalden Ongmu , who've been with the 24-hour TV news channel run by Infinity Media since it launched, spoke to literally hundreds of people who related to her their personal stories of bribes they've allegedly had to pay to get the right forms at the home affairs office.
Victims - a lot of them Africans from elsewhere on the continent trying to get processed to work and stay in South Africa legitimately - told and showed how they have to pay bribes to be given the rights forms and to be placed into lines that actually move, as opposed to non-moving and slow moving "no-bribes" lines.
Kalden Ongmu and a ANN7 camera team together with a decoy, recently filmed from 03:00 in the morning at home affairs, revealing bribery and corruption at every turn.
The ANN7 hidden camera captured how bribes are paid by migrants to home affairs officials and various "middlemen", with even a police officer signing a fake, false affidavit.
ANN7's expose revealed the faces of the alleged bribe takers, and how the corrupt process happens in which migrants are fleeced with thousands of rand.
South Africa's department of home affairs issues permits for foreigners, and the Marabastad office deals with asylum seekers.
Kalden Ongmu's expose was similar to a shocking recent Carte Blanche investigation on M-Net (DStv 101) showing how corrupt court officials are bribed and paid off to make police dockets and court documents "disappear" by removing and smuggling them out of court in exchange for thousands of rand.
"I will put you inside. You have to pay R500. You don't need to go into the line," the ANN7 spy cam shows one of the corrupt middlemen say to the ANN7 decoy, going through the painful bribery process to get the right forms and get inside the Marabastad building of home affairs. "Lauguage for home affairs is money."
Mkuseli Apleni, the director-general of the department of home affairs, was in ANN7's studios in Midrand admitting that "there are challenges of corruption" at the department of home affairs but "those challenges of corruption are not only at home affairs; they are across".
"The department of home affairs is not only about Marabastad. There are areas where we are doing the work. That picture is now painting as if home affairs in entirety is corrupt."
"Inside there is somebody who is colluding with those people outside," said Mkuseli Apleni.
Mkuseli Apleni said an "appointment system" will now be implemented at Marabastad so that "if you've got an appointment system then you kill that issue that is happening there".
