WATCH | Home Affairs employee dismissed following viral pepper spray video

Home Affairs

Cape Town — Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has condemned the video showing a Home Affairs employee threatening customers with pepper spray.

In the video, residents were dissatisfied that the system was offline for them to receive their documents, but the worker, standing with a bottle of pepper spray in hand, sprayed it in the air and shouted at the people waiting to go outside.

“Randburg home affairs are pepper-spraying citizens who are complaining that the system is offline,” a caption in the video said.

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In response to the video, which Minister Schreiber was alerted to via the X post, he said he was appalled to see the video and said swift action took place to make sure the employee was dismissed.

“I was appalled upon receiving this video at 10:50 this morning. An investigation was launched immediately, and by 17:00 the individual in question was removed,” he said.

The Minister explained that the issues at Home Affairs offices are linked to the IT system and said it exemplified the need for urgent digital transformation.

“On behalf of Home Affairs, I apologise to all clients affected. Upon investigation, the deeper problem at this office – as with most other challenges at Home Affairs – are related to IT.”

“This affirms the urgency of digital transformation, so that our services become accessible in more locations and over the internet to reduce the need for anyone to stand in queues,” he concluded.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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