Pretoria – A City of Tshwane employee, whose fingerprints did not match those linked to his Green ID book when he tried to apply for a Smart ID, has been arrested after admitting he was an imposter using someone else’s identity.
The alleged imposter, who was known at work simply as “Prince”, had been employed by the City of Tshwane for about 13 years when the anomaly was recently exposed.
Matters came to a head for Prince after the Office of the Chief Operations Officer (COO) requested the City of Tshwane’s Forensic Services Division to investigate suspicions of identity fraud.
Detailing how the imposter managed to cheat the system for so long, the City of Tshwane statement on Sunday, 17 August 2025, said: ”Investigations revealed that the individual had been employed by the city in 2012, under the name Mr. Mohlaume Geoffrey Mamabolo, despite discrepancies regarding the official identity document on file”.
The statement added: “The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the genuine Mr. Mamabolo’s identity document was issued in 2013, and the identity number in question had been blocked after ‘Prince’ attempted to apply for a smart ID card.
“His fingerprints did not match the records in the Home Affairs database, raising suspicions that he might be a foreign national.”
In the early hours of Friday, 15 August 2025, officials from the City of Tshwane’s Forensic Services Division and officers from the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) confronted “Prince” at the water treatment plant.
The City of Tshwane said Prince failed to provide a coherent explanation for the ID discrepancy.
He could not give details of his upbringing or schooling, and “ultimately, admitted that he was not Mr. Mamabolo”.
“He further disclosed that the fraudulent ID document was given to him years ago by an individual in Polokwane,” the statement said.
Investigators also discovered that “Prince” had no fixed address and had been residing on municipal property since his employment.
“’Given the prima facie evidence of stolen identity, misrepresentation, contravention of the Immigration Act and fraud, TMPD officers arrested him and handed him over to the South African Police Service in Lyttelton.”
Prince is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 18 August 2025.
The City of Tshwane said the arrest was executed swiftly “due to the security risk of his continued presence posed at the water treatment facility”.
The COO’s office, in conjunction with Group Human Capital Management, will institute appropriate labour relations processes to address the matter further, the City of Tshwane said.
