The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has confirmed the recall of South Africa’s Consul General to Dubai, Andrew Tsepo Lebona, following allegations of his involvement in a sophisticated visa scam.
“The department has acted on information from whistleblowers pointing to security breaches and misconduct. We have recalled the Consul General from Dubai to Pretoria for a preliminary investigation,”
Dirco spokesperson, Crispin Phiri, announced.
The allegations suggest that the Consul General’s office in Dubai was implicated in an illegal operation, reportedly selling visas to citizens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This revelation has raised concerns about the integrity of South Africa’s diplomatic operations and the security risks associated with such breaches.
In an interview, Phiri provided further details on the investigation, noting that a dedicated team has been assigned to delve into the matter. He emphasized that the inquiry remains in its early stages, with all findings being preliminary at this point.
Phiri explained that the decision to recall Lebona was based on the information gathered so far. The Consul General is expected to face questioning in Pretoria, where the investigation will continue under close scrutiny.
The investigating team is tasked with compiling a comprehensive report, which will be submitted to the Director-General of Dirco for review. Once the report is evaluated, recommendations will be made, and the final decision will rest with the Dirco Minister.
In a related development, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has voiced his support for Dirco’s investigation into the matter. Minister Schreiber took to social media platform X to address the situation, stating that any visas found to be linked to the alleged fraudulent activities will be cancelled.
“As I warned in Parliament this week, corruption that threatens our national security will continue in the absence of wholesale digital transformation,”
Schreiber said in his post.
Schreiber also stressed the need for South Africa to modernize its processes, particularly in critical areas such as visa issuance.
“Eliminating outrageous paper-based and hand-written processes is our apex priority, and I call on all sectors of society to support this vision in order to safeguard SA’s sovereignty,”
Schreiber added.
