An immigration official stationed at OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng has been convicted and sentenced for corruption. Lee-Ann Cloete, 40, demanded money from a Thai national arriving in South Africa in September 2019. According to the Hawks, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Cloete inspected the travel documents of the Thai national, who had just landed from Thailand to visit a companion in Durban. After claiming the documents were not in order, Cloete demanded a bribe to allow her entry into the country.
The Thai traveler, unable to pay on the spot, contacted her companion, who promptly transferred R3,000 via an electronic money service. Once the payment was received, Cloete stamped the passport and allowed the woman to enter South Africa. The incident was reported to the authorities, and the Hawks initiated a thorough investigation. Cloete was arrested shortly after the event.
On February 19, 2025, Cloete was convicted of corruption by the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court. She was sentenced to either a R30,000 fine or six years in prison, with the sentence suspended for five years. The conviction has been welcomed by the Hawks, with Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, the provisional head of the Hawks in Gauteng, reinforcing the organization’s zero-tolerance policy toward corruption and illegal activities. He emphasized the importance of maintaining integrity among officials who are entrusted to uphold the law.
This case follows another in December 2024, when a Mpumalanga immigration officer, Bongi Gladys Shongwe, was charged with fraud and corruption. Shongwe allegedly stamped an expired passport for a Tanzanian national in exchange for a R1,000 bribe, highlighting ongoing efforts by law enforcement to tackle corruption within South Africa’s immigration system.
