A Zimbabwean national who fraudulently obtained a permanent residence permit and used fake immigration documents to secure a high-paying position as Chief Financial Officer at the North West Development Corporation has been convicted and sentenced.
Kudakwashe Mpofu, former CFO of the state-owned entity, was sentenced by the Mmabatho Regional Court on 12 November 2025 on two counts of fraud following a Special Investigating Unit probe.
The court handed down three years’ imprisonment on the first count, with potential placement under correctional supervision, and a further three years wholly suspended for five years on the second count, conditional on no further fraud or corruption convictions.
The SIU investigation, triggered by an anonymous tip-off to the Department of Home Affairs’ Counter Corruption Unit in July 2023, uncovered an elaborate fraud scheme. Mpofu admitted to purchasing a fraudulent permanent residence permit for R3,000 from an entity called MRM Trading Enterprise and Investment, which has no connection to Home Affairs.
Investigators discovered Mpofu possessed multiple fake documents, including a fraudulent critical skills visa, work permit, and an exemption certificate purportedly issued in 1996 when he was only five years old.
Using these documents, Mpofu secured employment at the North West Development Corporation, first as Assets Manager earning R900,000 annually from May 2021, then as CFO from June 2023 with a contract worth R1.6 million per year. He also obtained a driver’s license and financed luxury vehicles, including a Land Rover Sport, BMW 3 Series, and Ford Ranger.
The SIU said Mpofu had initially entered South Africa legally on a study visa but remained and worked illegally after it expired.
The conviction follows the SIU’s investigation under Proclamation No. 154 of 2024, examining serious maladministration in Home Affairs relating to the illegal issuance of visas, permits, and citizenship documents.
