Unbelievable: See The R12 Million Mansion Built By Corrupt Home Affairs official

A palatial mansion in rural Limpopo, allegedly built with the proceeds of mass corruption in the department of home affairs (DHA), stands as a symbol of how a crucial government ministry was captured by criminals.

The swanky residence is owned by Hellen Nkogatse, a former senior administrator at the department, who was in charge of adjudicating all permit applications and approved 426 visas between 2021 and 2023. During this time, Nkogatse, who earned between R25,000 and R30,000 a month, built the double-storey abode in her home village of Setlaboswane in Ga-Masemola, and even tarred the road leading to it.

A Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into fraud in the DHA found Nkogatse raked in at least R1.3m through approving fraudulent visa applications to foreigners before she resigned in October 2023.

Colleagues of Nkogatse pulled in more than R10m over a three-year period through a sophisticated money-laundering scheme — in some instances using a supposed construction company to buy nonexistent “building materials”.

These officials have been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for possible criminal prosecution.

“The disparity between Ms Nkogatse’s official government salary and her actual property holdings represents a critical indicator of corruption. Combined with the documented R1.3m in suspicious payments and the 67% fraudulent approval rate for visa applications she adjudicated, this evidence establishes a compelling case for corrupt enrichment through abuse of official position,” the SIU said in its report.

When contacted for comment by the Sunday Times, Nkogatse pleaded ignorance about the mansion, saying she had no knowledge of being implicated in any wrongdoing. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she said. However, the luxury home is registered in her name.

Another DHA official, Daphne Mannye, is alleged to have received — through her husband Eric Mannye’s construction company, Solusalem — R6.7m and R2.14m in electronic payments between 2020 and 2023.

“Solusalem is a company controlled by Ms Mannye’s husband, Tshifolaro Eric Mannye, serving as a payment hub for corrupt transactions … Despite being registered as a construction company, Solusalem’s primary function was to receive and process corrupt payments from home affairs official Rhulani Masingi and other sources related to fraudulent visa approvals … Transaction patterns suggest systematic illegal proceeds rather than commercial activity,” the SIU said in its report.

Mannye’s alleged illegal activities were identified by DHA internal audits, which picked up that she had green-lighted 459 Nigerian visa applications from the Cape Town Visa Facilitation Service (VFS) centre. This approval rate was found to have been an exceptionally high one from a single adjudicator, raising red flags.

Mannye told the Sunday Times she was dismissed in July 2024 because of a misunderstanding and denied ever receiving any bribes.

“Me, I don’t do those things. I am a pastor,” she said. “This thing is so personal. They should have dismissed us as a group because there are seven of us who did permanent residence, but they said I didn’t do the verification. Those people are using muthi, [and] they are against me. I don’t have millions — I don’t have [anything].”

Most of the references for the payments into Solusalem speak of “building materials” and originate from Masingi. Between 2019 and 2021, Masingi, who held a mid-level government position, was found to have purchased three properties worth R1.8m for cash.

The corrupt officials — adjudicators and VFS employees — worked outside the official department systems and turned a blind eye to procedure. Their compliance brought one cash transfer after another

“This level of property investment significantly exceeds [what would have been] expected and financial capacity, based on declared government salary, indicating substantial undisclosed income sources,” the SIU said.

The report detailed how the scheme worked. The office doors would be shut by the adjudicator, which meant security cameras were blocked.

The intermediaries — shadowy figures such as an individual identified only as “Mohammed” in the SIU report — worked the streets and were masters at generating false documentation, crafting fictional histories for foreign nationals desperate to remain in or enter the country. They collected “fees” and distributed the proceeds to the network of corrupt officials.

The payments flowed through various illicit channels. Sometimes it was a quick, untraceable FNB e-wallet transfer, or else a digital bribe ranging from R500 to R3,000, which led to the unlawful issuance of a permit. At other times, the method was old-school and audacious: wads of cash folded thinly and concealed within the application forms and then slipped across the desk once the door was closed.

The corrupt officials — adjudicators and VFS employees — worked outside the official department systems and turned a blind eye to procedure. Their compliance brought one cash transfer after another.

According to the SIU, this network was how people such as foreign national Afeez Kolade Lawal received their fraudulent visas. Lawal was a high-value player in the scheme. His bank records told a startling story: a turnover of over R84m (R53m in and R30m out) between January 2024 and June 2025. From these vast sums, tiny but essential payments were routed back into the network via “cash send” transactions.

Department insiders told the Sunday Times these payments were first uncovered by the department’s counter-corruption team. “That team unveiled this malfeasance during the initial investigations. This [wrongdoing] was then handed over to Dr [Cassius] Lubisi, the former director-general [in the Presidency],” said one insider.

The Lubisi report found irregularities and system failures at the DHA but said they could not have “severely compromised the credibility of South African visas and permits”. It recommended that the DHA establish a multidisciplinary task team to thoroughly investigate all suspected cases of wrongdoing identified by Lubisi’s committee.

According to the DHA, that was done in 2024, and so far 80 officials have been dismissed, 18 have resigned, and 46 investigations are still in progress.