Fake passport photo: Tanzanian man arrested at border while leaving SA with six-year-old girl
A 32-year-old Tanzanian national has appeared in the Zeerust Magistrates’ Court on charges of trafficking in persons after he was allegedly found attempting to leave South Africa with a six-year-old girl using questionable travel documents.
According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula, the incident occurred on 1 February 2026, when a Border Management Authority official on duty at the Kopfontein Border Post in Zeerust processed the suspect, Vitalis Razaro Kisinga, who presented an emergency travel document to exit the country.
Mathebula said Kisinga was accompanied by a six-year-old girl whom he claimed was his daughter, however officials became suspicious after it was discovered that the child’s passport contained her personal details but displayed a photograph of an adult woman, whom Kisinga allegedly identified as the child’s mother.
A preliminary investigation was conducted, leading to Kisinga’s arrest on charges of trafficking in persons, while the child was removed and placed in a place of safety.
Kisinga appeared in court on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, and was remanded in custody. The case was postponed to 9 February 2026 for further investigation.
Colonel Katlego Mogale, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said members from the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department were performing their patrol when they were alerted to a bizarre scenario unfolding in Broad Street.
“They were alerted to a group of eight half-naked teenagers walking on foot. Upon further inquiries, the officers established that the teenagers were foreign nationals who could not speak English,” said Mogale.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News