Deported boy finally an SA citizen

Source: The Citizen, 03/06/2016

The judge expressed concern over the manner in which home affairs had
dealt with the matter.


A 13-year-old schoolboy who was at one stage deported from South
Africa because home affairs refused to register his birth, has finally
been declared a South African citizen following a long court
battle.


Acting Judge Harshila Kooevertjie granted an order, declaring the boy
a South African citizen and ordering home affairs to register his
birth in the population register.


Nicole Breytenbach of the University of Pretoria`s Centre for Child
Law was appointed as curator to launch the application on behalf of
the child, after home affairs for years simply ignored all pleas for
assistance.


The boy was born at the Tembisa Hospital in August 2002, to a Zambian
mother and a South African father.


He was issued with a birth certificate, which was later blocked in
2010, with home affairs relying on a 2008 ruling that the mother could
not prove that her children were born in South Africa.


The mother has been battling for years to obtain a visa for herself
and to have her son declared a South African citizen.


Judge Kooevertjie said that despite home affairs stating that the
records of the child`s birth could not be located, it never claimed
that his birth certificate had been fraudulently or incorrectly issued
and gave no reasons why he should not be entitled to South African
citizenship.


The boy`s main concern was his academic career, as his registration at
school and extramural activities were being compromised because he did
not have a valid identity document.


The centre argued that the non-identification status of minor children
was a risk as they were prone to become victims of human trafficking
and even deportation, as had happened to the child in this
case.


The judge expressed concern over the manner in which home affairs had
dealt with the matter, saying the uncertainty had caused unnecessary
difficulties in the child`s life.


She said the boy could not be denied access to education and other
necessary amenities, which every boy his age enjoyed. Judge
Kooevertjie said there was no dispute that the boy`s father was a
South African citizen and the child therefore qualified for South
African citizenship.