Desperate parents turn to court for birth certificate

THE parents of a now 11-yearold girl had to turn to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in their desperate bid to obtain her legal birth certificate.

It had emerged that a fraudulent birth certificate was issued shortly after her birth.

The Cape Town parents, who cannot be identified to safeguard the identity of their daughter, identified only as “I”, told the court they ran out of options.

They said the Department of Home Affairs steadfastly refused to issue them with a birth certificate for “I”.

She was born in May 2007 at the Netcare Parklane Clinic in Joburg. Her parents, who are both South African citizens, were shortly after her birth offered a registration of birth service, provided by a private company trading as BK Registrations.

Her father stated in court papers that they completed the application forms and paid the applicable fee to the company.

They were informed after 10 days that the certificate had been delivered to the hospital, and that they could fetch it.

Six years ago, the girl’s first passport expired and her father went to Home Affairs to renew it.

It was for the first time and with shock that he heard that the birth certificate issued to her was fraudulent.

“The department told him she did not exist on their system.”

The father tried to explain to the officials that he had obtained a birth certificate through BK Registrations, but they would not help him.

He tried to contact the company, but they did not respond, he said. The hospital denied any liability.

This was the start of the father’s long quest to have his daughter’s birth registered. He said he went to various Home Affairs offices around the country, but no one could help him.

“It has been six years since I tried to register her as a citizen of this country, but I have not succeeded. This is despite her being born here.”

He said his main concern was his daughter’s academic career, as no school was willing to take her without a valid identity document.

She was at present being home schooled, he said.

The father said that his “stateless” child would encounter even more difficulties later in life, as an identity document was a primary requirement.

He said the non-identification status of children was also risky, as they were prone to becoming victims of human trafficking and even deportation. “The manner in which the department has dealt with this matter is of concern, as despite seeking their assistance, they have failed to respond.”

The department, on the other hand, said it could not simply hand out birth and identity documents. It said that there had tp be be clear proof that a person was a South African citizen.

An official, Xholike Wittes, stated in court papers that there was no proof that the child was in fact born at the Parklane Clinic or in South Africa. Wittes also questioned how the father had obtained the initial passport for the child with the fraudulent birth certificate. He said the birth certificate issued for “I” after her birth was definitely fraudulent, as a search on the department’s system showed she did not exist.

The father subsequently handed a maternity certificate issued by the Parklane Clinic to the court as proof that the child was born there. It is unknown how the department issued the initial passport with the fraudulent birth certificate.

The court ordered that the department had to furnish the father with a birth certificate within 14 days.