Gauteng: A warrant of arrest was successfully executed by the Hawks Secunda based Serious Corruption Investigation on Saturday, 18 October 2025. The 42-year-old suspect, who impersonated the Department of Employment and Labour, was initially arrested on 22 February 2022 in Piet Retief.
According to South African Police Service, the suspect contacted a loyal employee in the Department of Employment and Labour attached to Piet Retief office, requesting him to misuse his authority to process fake Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) payments. He allegedly promised to share the benefits with the employee. An appointment was scheduled for 22 February 2022. The loyal employee contacted the Hawks in Mpumalanga for assistance. During the suspect and employee’s meeting, the Hawks watched closely until five claim forms containing particulars of applicants from Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng provinces were handed to the employee.
The suspect was arrested and appeared before Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court, where he was granted bail. He only honoured the court’s directive to appear before court only three times and thereafter absconded. A warrant of arrest was secured and executed from Friday, 17 October 2025, at 22:00 until his arrest at Ivory Park in Gauteng province in the early hours of Saturday morning, at 04:30. During his arrest, he was found with a notebook containing numerous identity numbers and bank accounts as well as uncompleted UIF claim forms.
The bogus employee is expected to appear before Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 20 October 2025. “The suspect’s actions is an indication that he has not seized his activities. He must answer before court how he got personal details of people of which some never met him before and introduced himself to some as the Department of Employment and Labour official. I really appreciate the commitment from our team, and I believe more information will be exposed soon,” said the Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber.