-Staff Writer /26, Wed Nov 2025
A Zimbabwean Foreign National has been slapped with a sentence by the Mmabatho Regional Court in the North West following charges of fraud.
Kudakwashe Mpofu, a Zimbabwean national who is a former North West Development Corporation (NWDC) Chief Financial Officer(CFO) was sentenced after being exposed for using multiple falsified permits to live and work in South Africa. He occupied one of the corporation’s highest-earning executive positions,
Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) which persued the allegations against Mpofu said the conviction sends a stark warning about systemic fraud and the infiltration of state institutions through illegal immigration documents.
For the first count of fraud, he received three years’ imprisonment, which may be converted to correctional supervision. A further three years’ imprisonment was wholly suspended for five years on condition he does not commit any additional fraud or corruption offences.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said Mpofu had built his professional career on fraudulent documentation, beginning with a fake South African Permanent Residence Permit that he bought for R3,000 from a private entity with no authority to issue immigration documents.
Investigators also uncovered a fraudulent Critical/Exceptional Skills Visa, Work Permit and an Exemption Certificate dated 1996 a year in which Mpofu would have been only five years old.
Using this collection of falsified documents, Mpofu overstayed in the country after his study visa expired and went on to secure senior management positions within the NWDC, earning R900,000 per year as an Assets Manager before being elevated to CFO, where his salary rose to R1.63 million annually.
He also used the documents to obtain a South African driver’s licence, secure vehicle finance and purchase luxury vehicles, including a Land Rover Sport, BMW 3 Series and Ford Ranger.
The case began with a 2023 tip-off to the Department of Home Affairs and later formed part of an SIU investigation authorised under Proclamation 154 of 2024 into the illegal issuing of visas and permits.
The SIU referred its evidence to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), resulting in Mpofu’s prosecution and subsequent conviction.
Kganyago said the outcome reaffirms the SIU’s commitment to protecting public institutions from fraudsters who manipulate immigration systems to gain access to strategic positions within the state.
News Junction (Gold Standard)