ActionSA has called on Home Affairs Minister Aaron Mostoaledi to initiate an investigation into allegations surrounding the acquisition of South African citizenship by the husband of Setsoto local municipality mayor Seipati Justina Lebusa-Mbiwe.
The party claims the mayor’s husband, David Mbiwe, acquired citizenship illegally, and is asking Motsoaledi to probe why Mbiwe has not been deported to Nigeria, his country of origin.
The controversy came to light during ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba’s recent visit to the Free State, where he was informed of Lebusa-Mbiwe’s husband.
According to Mashaba, the mayor reportedly met her husband after she was granted a catering tender at the Ficksburg jail, where Mbiwe was serving a prison sentence on firearm charges.
Despite being slated for deportation back to Nigeria, Mbiwe’s marriage to the mayor allowed him to remain in the country.
“During a visit to the Free State two weeks ago, I received disturbing allegations that Lebusa-Mbiwe met her husband, who was allegedly serving a prison sentence on firearm charges, while she had a catering tender at the Ficksburg jail,” said Mashaba.
“The man was supposed to be deported to Nigeria, but he got married to Lebusa-Mbiwe, which allowed him to stay in the country.
“Meanwhile, the Immigration Act is clear that permanent residency can be revoked if someone is declared an undesirable person if they, for example, served a prison sentence.”
ActionSA has stressed an urgent need for an investigation into the allegations, contending that the breakdown of the rule of law in the country is a significant factor leading to communities taking matters into their own hands.
“It is because of the breakdown of the rule of law in South Africa that communities across the country take the law into their own hands, as we have recently seen in Diepsloot, Johannesburg. The alleged marriage of the Free State mayor is just one more example.
“No country can prosper, create jobs or improve the lives of its people if the rule of law is allowed to disintegrate as we have seen in South Africa.
“ActionSA is committed to turning the situation around and doing the difficult work of fixing the country,” Mashaba said.
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