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28 year wait for ID after Home Affairs mix-up

Source: The Star, 31/08/2016

Johannesburg - Joseph Khoza could hardly contain his excitement after
he finally received an ID book from the Department of Home Affairs
after a 28-year-long struggle.

His ID had been blocked on and off since 1988 because of a department
mix-up which repeatedly alleged that he was an illegal immigrant from
Mozambique.

But on Friday, an excited Khoza collected his ID book from the
department`s Germiston offices.

"This is a huge relief. I am very excited. My wife was saying we need
to throw a huge party," he said.

The Star first published a story about Khoza`s ID troubles on June
1.

But by the beginning of this month, he seemed to be no
closer to getting his identity documents.

His smartcard application had been declined, even after the
department`s spokesman, Mayihlome Tshwete, had said the block had been
lifted
He was told to apply for the green barcoded ID book instead, which he
did at the beginning of last month.

Two weeks ago, he was informed that his ID was ready for collection,
but because he worked in the Northern Cape, he had to wait until he
visited home to collect it from the Germiston branch.

To make the story sweeter, a Home Affairs official from the Kempton
Park branch, who had rudely told Khoza she would call the police to
have him deported when he had asked her for help, allegedly apologised
to him after he received his ID book.

Khoza said she had even undertaken to help him get his passport. But
he still plans to take action against the department for the losses he
suffered as a result of its bungles.

The 47-year-old Khoza has been wrongfully arrested a number of times,
has lost an international job, can`t access his money from a bank and
couldn`t register his daughter in school, all because of his ID woes.
"I`m going to sue them. If they want to settle out of court, I`ll
speak to them," he said. "I want to show them all my payslips and
prove to them this is the damage they`ve done.

"It boils down to the loss of income. What I`m earning today is 25
percent compared to what I was earning in 2012, when I lost my job."

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If you are visiting SA or already here on a visa, take this as a public-interest warning. In 2025, a quiet, but sharp, shift has taken hold inside parts of home affairs adjudication ranks: applications are being refused almost mechanically if they were not submitted at least 60 days before visa expiry.A wave of refusals repeating near-identical wording:The applicant did not submit his/her application no less than 60 days prior to the expiry date of his/her.

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