Home Affairs accused of turning away gay couples

Source: The Citizen, 05/03/2016

Home Affairs accused of turning away gay couples
The Citizen 1 April 2016
"Staff were calling one another from counter to counter whispering
about us, how we are two women getting married."
Two married same-sex couples have accused several Home Affairs
branches in Gauteng of refusing to provide service to them based on
their sexual orientation, according to MambaOnline.com.
Vaivi and Sape Swartz told the website their attempts to register
their marriage were thwarted when they were turned away from four
separate branches in Tshwane, and they described the treatment they
received from security personnel and Home Affairs supervisors as
"negative, self-entitled, apathetic, mocking and homophobic".
One security guard, the site reported, asked the couple, who stuck to
tradition and undertook lobola before tying the knot in December,
2016, why women would want to marry each other when there are so many
men available, and further refused them access into the building until
they firmly demanded entry.
Once inside, the women were told after queuing for hours that the
branch did not perform same-sex unions and were given other reasons,
such as the appointments not being made because of unavailable petty
cash to purchase diaries, according to the website.
Sape Maodi and Antoinett "Vaivi" Swartz on 20 October 2015 in
Pretoria. They have been together for eight years and had their
traditional wedding during December. Picture: Christine Vermooten
"The saddest part was having our relationship mocked by the staff and
security guard," said Vaivi, added that their experiences were not
merely incompetence on the part of staff but were fuelled by homophobia.
"Staff were calling one another from counter to counter whispering
about us, how we are two women getting married. The staff were so
proud to turn us away based on irrelevant reasons and the supervisor
proudly supported them," she said.
Another couple, Dr Zelia Sofianos and her then fiancé, Megan Brook,
had to struggle before making an appointment to marry at Home Affairs
offices in Ekurhuleni and were told by the Edenvale and Germiston
branches that the solemnising of same-sex marriages was not done
there, site reported.
Eventually, the marriage Vaivi and Sape Swartz was made official in
January, while Zelia and Megan were able to marry earlier this month,
according to the website.
Regarding the accusation of homophobia against the department, Home
Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete denied the issue was homophobia
in the department, saying: "You can`t take two cases and say the
department has this particular problem [of homophobia]."
He said it was important for civilians who encountered such problem to
approach the Head Office with official complaints.