By AGISANANG SCUFF
2 October 2025- Former Home Affairs employee, Dawn Celeste Pieterson (45) was found guilty on all nine counts of fraud, read with the provisions of Section 99, 103, and 224 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 as well as two counts of contravention Section 31 (1) (d) of Birth and Death Registration Act 51 of 1992 by the Calvinia Magistrate’s Court. Pieterson’s misdeeds took place between February 2019 and September 2022, when she was an employee of the Department of Home Affairs based in Calvinia.
The Hawks spokesperson in Northern Cape, Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said as part of her duties, she had access to the national population register. Thebe said Pieterson took funeral covers from reputable insurance companies and nominated herself as a beneficiary.
“To benefit, she manipulated the national population register by falsely issuing BI-1663 forms (notice of death form) to reflect the fictitious death of the victims. The system registered the affected persons as deceased, resulting in a plethora of problems in the victims’ day to day lives.
“The matter was postponed to 26 January 2026 for sentencing,” he said.
Meanwhile, the acting Provincial Head of the Hawks, Brigadier Prince Mashimbye, commended the great effort of the investigation and prosecution team.
The Guardian 