A Nigerian doctor, Anthony Nwafor, has been accused of corruption and illegal immigration by the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa.
Nwafor, a family physician was arrested two weeks ago with 14 of his family’s passports confiscated by an official of the department.
The news which went viral broke that Nwafor was a fake doctor, but the State Prosecutor, Meivel Mashaba, said that the medic was not charged with such allegation.
The department said he was unlawfully in possession of those passports which were South African and Nigerian and had tried to bribe an officer investigating him with 50,000 rand.
The medic’s wife and a pharmacist, Mrs Amara Nwafor, was held alongside her husband, but was released a few days later as charges against her were dropped while her Nigerian passport was yet to be released.
Mrs Nwafor has condemned the allegations against her husband, “I see what is going on here as xenophobic prosecution and I also see it as white collar xenophobia,” she said.
Dr. Nwafor subsequently appeared at a bail hearing in Limpopo province over charges level against him.
In cross-examining, Mr Mashaba questioned the different spelling of the doctor’s name on his documents seized and prayed the court not to grant him bail, stressing that the court was not sure who it was releasing.
Nwafor’s legal representative believed that the errors in the spelling of his client’s name by the department should not cost him a denied bail, insisting that his identity cannot be questioned in a country where he studied and has practiced for 14 years.
The presiding judge asked for more time to study the arguments of both parties and the evidences presented.
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