Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Check Point Desk
A FAKE national identity document issuing scam whose masterminds are working for a company contracted by the Department of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property has been busted at the Civil Registry Department‘s Tredgold Building in Bulawayo.
Sources say an alert Civil Registry Department official at Tredgold Building noted an anomaly when a woman who wanted a new plastic identity card visited the offices in the company of one of the masterminds, identified only as Brian.
The said Brian works for Dokma Private Limited, contracted by the Department of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property to digitise the operations of the Deeds, Lands and Administration Systems programme.
The two departments, Civil Registry and Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. The document appeared genuine, except that the client, Ms Buhle Sibanda’s photograph on the paper document matched the exact clothes and makeup she was wearing on that particular day, despite her claims that she had kept the photocopy since acquiring the original identity card in 2019.
Ms Sibanda was born in 1995.
The document stated that her home chief in Tsholotsho was Tshabanda. However, there is no Chief Tshabanda in the district.
On interrogation, she revealed that the photograph was taken just outside Tredgold Building on that same day and Brian had processed everything after charging US$30 for his illegal services.
Replacing a lost or stolen ID costs US$10 and an applicant has to bring a photocopy of their national identity document and original birth certificate. Another source said when Brian was interrogated by officials from the Department of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property as well as the Civil Registry Department, he allegedly refused to reveal who he was working with, raising fears that the scam has been going on for a long time. “This is a serious crime and one can’t even dare to imagine how many people have fake IDs and able to do anything with it, including opening bank accounts and accessing loans, not to mention criminal activities. We can’t even rule out foreign nationals getting these documents,” said a source
The sources added that the particular incident came to light because of an alert Civil Registry officer and also that Ms Sibanda wanted a plastic identity document so that she could apply for a passport.
“This means that those who need identity cards for nefarious activities can easily do that and go about their criminal acts,” said the source.
The Department of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property Southern region registrar Mr Thulani Sibanda confirmed that a staff member from a contracted company was caught in the fake identity document scam. He however, said there was little that he could do since the concerned officer was not employed by the department.
“We had such a case, I remember receiving a call from the Civil Registry official here while I was on my way to Harare and when I came back we handled the matter and Brian admitted to the offence but flatly denied to reveal who he was working with. The onus is now on the Civil Registry Department to open a police case if they so wish or an official letter of complaint to us which we would have taken to the service provider for further action,” said Mr Sibanda.
The Civil Registry Department appears not to have taken further action on the case, raising concerns that an insider may have been working with Brian.
Matabeleland North Department of Civil Registry registrar, Mr Innocent Dumani did not respond to questions sent to him on Tuesday via WhatsApp, despite blue ticking the messages.
