Home affairs of no help to dead man walking
“I could not believe my ears when they told me I was dead.”
Those are the words of 23year-old Zusakhe Ngozi of Malungeni village in Ngqeleni, who the department of home affairs declared dead.
Ngozi was told that he had died in 1997 in Lusikisiki, a place he has never set foot in.
Despite being declared dead, he successfully applied for a green bar-coded ID in 2011.
Ngozi heard of his deceased status when he visited the Ngqeleni office to apply for the smart ID last month.
“Home affairs officials got upset with me when I told them to look at me and see that I was alive and well. I’ve never even been to Lusikisiki, let alone lived there,” he said.
Ngozi is just one of thousands of South Africans who have over the years been declared dead or married despite being alive or single. In most cases, this is because of a bungle by the department.
Ngozi said he had since been left scrambling to prove that he was alive.
“They also alleged that in 2017 I changed my surname, but I don’t know anything about that either. They sent me from pillar to post for assistance, and eventually told me to make an affidavit to prove that I was still alive and I did that.
“When I took it to them they told me that it could take several months before they could correct this,” Ngozi said.
He said he had been traumatised by the treatment he had received from officials.
“They called me names and kept asking me to prove my existence by bringing my mother, who passed away in 2013. When I told them this, they said I should bring her death certificate as proof even though they could search their systems and see this for themselves,” he said.
Ngozi said he had completed his matric in 2015 and had the certificate, but was now afraid to use it.
“What do I do in the meantime? I am unemployed. I’d use my certificate to apply for work, but I don’t know if it is valid with the ID number it has.
Home affairs officials got upset with me when I told them to look at me and see that I was alive and well. I’ve never even been to Lusikisiki, let alone lived there
“I’m hesitant to even continue searching for work because I’m basically a dead man walking,” an emotional Ngozi said.
Home affairs national spokesman Thabo Mokgoba said they would investigate the matter.
“We will institute a prompt investigation with a view to addressing the cause of the problem.
“There are various factors and we would not wish to speculate at this moment.
“The provincial manager for home affairs in the Eastern Cape will delegate officials to contact the client to attain further information that will assist in the investigation,” he said.