Twins get birth certificates after 30 years
TWIN sisters from Stinkwater have endured life without birth certificates for 31 years after their mother abandoned them at Jubilee District Hospital.
Lebo and Lebogang Munyai were jubilant last week after they received certificates with the help of the DA women’s network in Tshwane.
They said their father, Lucas Munyai, was pushed from pillar to post by the Department of Home Affairs, which required him to prove his paternity.
They told the Independent Media that for decades their father faced the difficulty of raising money for a DNA test.
After a number of years, the twins’ mother reappeared but died before she could sort out their certificates.
Lebogang said: “Our father was denied to do birth certificates for us on his own because they suspected he might have stolen us.” Their father died last year at the age of 62.
Lebo said: “My father was sick but his health condition was worsened by our struggle to get a South African identity. He was always stressed and used to express concern about what the future holds for us without identity documents.”
The sisters approached the Department of Home Affairs in Soshanguve for advice.
“They told us that we can perform the DNA test with our surviving paternal auntie. We didn’t have money to go for the test, and the DA people came on board to help us. We were able to do the test with our auntie and the result came (back) positive. Afterwards, we had to go for interviews at Home Affairs and subsequently they were able to make us birth certificates, which we took to apply for IDs. We are now waiting for our IDs,” Lebo said.
They said they could not look for jobs or apply for grants. They also could not record their children with the Home Affairs Department.
The first thing they wanted to do when they received their IDs was “to get their children’s birth certificates and apply for child support grants, and we will also look for employment”.
DA women’s network chairperson in Tshwane, Sandy Khathutshelo Mbuvha, said the twins’ plight was brought to her attention.
She said one of the key causes of this intergenerational statelessness of South Africans was the lack of free DNA testing for indigent South African fathers or relatives. Mbhuvha said the DA had called on Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to ensure the national laboratory conducted free DNA tests for indigent South African family members where such a test was required by Home Affairs to prove South African citizenship.