[Image: Vision Eye]
It was meant to be just another frustrating day at Home Affairs, with citizens enduring the all-too-familiar agony of the dreaded words: “The system is offline.”
But things took a turn for the dramatic when a security guard—clearly not in the mood for complaints—allegedly unleashed pepper spray on a frustrated woman.
The footage, which spread like wildfire across social media, shows the guard issuing a stern warning that everyone should comply or else. Moments later, the “else” arrived—a cloud of pepper spray filled the air, sending people scattering, coughing, and tearing up. If the system wasn’t working, neither were their eyes.
This is @HomeAffairsSA Randburg. @Leon_Schreib pic.twitter.com/s5rh5ZgvHv
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) February 27, 2025
Per The Citizen, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said he was “appalled” by the incident.
“I was appalled upon receiving this video at 10:50 am this morning. An investigation was launched immediately, and by 17:00, the individual in question was removed. On behalf of team Home Affairs, I apologise to all clients affected.”
Gone. Just like that. No disciplinary hearing, no waiting for weeks—just swift justice, Home Affairs-style.
While the security guard’s actions stole the headlines, Schreiber was quick to point out that the true villain here is the never-ending IT crisis at Home Affairs.
“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.”
South Africans know the drill: Take a day off work and arrive at Home Affairs with high hopes, only to be met with the soul-crushing words: “The system is offline.”
Schreiber, who previously promised to tackle this nightmare, didn’t mince his words:
“System offline’, needs to become a swear word, it really is not acceptable. I know we often make jokes about it. South Africans are very good at dealing with these kinds of things by making jokes out of them. But I would like to be the minister where the ‘system is online, not offline.”
Indeed, the solution isn’t rocket science.
“There’s low-hanging fruit here. The reality is that the internet infrastructure that is failing Home Affairs in many cases is something that can be fixed. We are living in the year 2025, for goodness sake, we’ve got Artificial Intelligence, how can we not have fast enough internet connections at these offices,” Schreiber questioned.
Schreiber assured the public that fixing the system wouldn’t turn into yet another corrupt feeding frenzy:
“This is going to be a very key focus for me. I think there is opportunity to make real visible impact in this regard and what we need to do is get people with the skills around the table to help us solve this problem in a way that does not become a tender bonanza.”
Home Affairs needs a digital revolution—one that ensures the only thing offline is the memory of standing in endless queues.
Until then, South Africans will continue to enter Home Affairs armed with patience…and possibly, gas masks.
[Source: The Citizen]
