From Deportation Threat to Government Desk: The Controversial Return of a Former Mayor

A former ANC mayor who resigned in 2019 amid a firestorm over allegations she fraudulently obtained South African citizenship has quietly resurfaced, this time as an employee within the Free State Department of Human Settlements. The alleged appointment of Nthateng Maoke, the ex-mayor of Setsoto Municipality, has ignited fresh controversy and raised pointed questions about the unresolved status of her citizenship case.

Maoke’s political career unraveled after a whistleblower tipped off Home Affairs, claiming she was a Lesotho national who had illegally acquired South African citizenship with the help of a senior official. Facing intense pressure, she stepped down as mayor but remained a councillor, continuing to draw a salary while legally challenging the department. Home Affairs was reportedly so adamant she was an illegal immigrant that they dispatched officials to deport her, an action halted only by a last-minute court intervention.

A Mysterious Turn and an Unadvertised Post

Now, sources within the provincial department claim Maoke began working there in May 2025. The move has left officials baffled. “Home affairs wrote to the Setsoto council to remove her as a councillor, but now we are told she has been found to be a South African citizen,” one department official told IOL. “The position she occupies now was not even advertised.”

The timing is particularly awkward. In October 2025, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber confirmed to a parliamentary committee that his office was “looking into” the identity fraud allegations against Maoke and that a verification process was underway. If verification was still ongoing in October, it suggests her status was not formally cleared when she allegedly assumed the government role months earlier.

Unanswered Questions and a “Mysterious” Resurfacing

“The matter then died down, there was nothing, until she mysteriously resurfaced at the department,” a source close to the case stated.

The situation presents a paradox: a person once deemed an illegal immigrant by the state now reportedly employed by that same state, in a role that bypassed standard recruitment channels. The allegations point to a concerning lack of accountability and transparency, where a serious citizenship fraud case appears to have simply faded from view, only for the subject to re-emerge in a secure government position.

For now, Maoke could not be reached for comment. Her alleged appointment stands as a stark test of the government’s commitment to consequence management and the integrity of its own hiring processes. The question remains: how does someone go from the brink of deportation to a government payroll without public explanation?

{Source: Citizen}

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