Masoyi woman finally gets correct ID after 12 years
Mpho Maphosa’s old ID indicated that she was a male, but home affairs has rectified the problem and issued her with the correct ID card.
A Masoyi woman is finally able to celebrate receiving the correct identity document (ID) that she has been waiting for for the past 12 years.
Mpho Maphosa’s new ID card was issued on September 10.
She had previously been registered as a male on the Department of Home Affairs’ system, which negatively affected her daughter, Nomfundo, as her own ID application requests were declined on several occasions.
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Mpho’s struggle to correct the error on her ID started in 2012, when she visited several home affairs branches without any success.
The paper intervened and wrote a number of articles about her struggle until Mbombela Home Affairs finally came to her aid. She thanked Lowveld Media and the Department of Home Affairs officials who had attended to her matter and handled it professionally.
“I can confirm that I finally received my new ID card, which states that I am a woman, and I am so happy because I am going to start a new life as the previous document was limiting me. Even at work, they will now register me. After receiving the document, I was also allowed to apply for an unabridged certificate, which will enable the system to link me and my child as mother and daughter so that she can obtain her own ID. She was always stressed, because she is 21 and does not yet have an ID.”
Mpho said since her daughter had completed Grade 12 three years ago, she could not further her studies because of the ID problem.
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Even though Mpho was not happy with the home affairs officials who had delayed her documentation issuing process for over a decade, she appreciated those who were patient and assisted her until she obtained this document. She has advised those who have documentation problems to keep on fighting until things are done right.
Nomfundo welcomed the development and said she was happy that she would now be able to obtain her documentation, which would enable her to register for her law degree that she should have commenced at Tshwane University of Technology three years ago.
She said the problem of not having an ID was giving her sleepless nights, thinking that her peers were continuing with their lives while hers was on hold. “I am happy that my mother finally got her ID, even though I still have to wait three months to apply for my document. I am just hoping that by the time I receive mine, I will get the space at the institution where I want to pursue my studies, because applications have already opened. Life is hard without an ID. You can’t do anything. That is why I started a nail salon so that I can keep myself busy and generate an income,” she said.
The spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs, Siya Qoza, said: “The department has officials dedicated to solving queries such as this one. People with similar challenges are invited to visit a home affairs office nearest to them for a resolution. On behalf of the department, I would like to apologise to Mpho for all the inconvenience caused, and we also commit to assisting her daughter to obtain her ID.”
