Mpumalanga woman’s life in limbo after fake marriage to foreigner

Elsie Mgwenya is being tormented by a fraudulent marriage in which she is married to a foreign national she has never met.

Mgwenya, from Marite in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, has accused the department of home affairs of registering the marriage without her consent. She claimed the department’s database registered her as a wife to a Mr Muhammad who is based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Unable to get married or obtain birth certificate for her son

This has been a serious headache as she is unable to get married to her fiancé – they have been together for more than 20 years.

“I discovered the problem for the first time in 2017 when I wanted to open a bank account at the First National Bank branch in Hazyview,” she said.

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“I was shocked when the lady assisting me divulged that I am married to a Mr Muhammad, who lives in Durban. The second time the problem was noticed was about six years ago when I wanted to register my newborn baby for a birth certificate.

“I was told that the surname of my child should be Muhammad. Shockingly, the home affairs official advised me to register my son under this unknown man’s surname, while I am still waiting for the issue to be addressed.

“But I refused because it did not make sense to me as I did not even know how the surname got associated with my identity document,” she said.

No help from home affairs

Mgwenya said she tried in vain to deal with the problem as the department of home affairs did not give her straight answers when she asked them to investigate.

“What worries me most is the fact that my partner will end up thinking that I know this Muhammad. I am told that there are people who collude with foreign nationals and get married for money. So my partner will end up associating me with them.”

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The 47-year-old mother of three claimed whenever she went to the Mhala home affairs branch where the alleged marriage was registered, they always told her they would telephone her when the investigations start, but they never did.

Mgwenya has reported the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) provincial office.

“I am praying and hoping the commission will be able to compel the department to annul this illegal marriage.

“I would be happy if they could also investigate how the marriage was registered without my presence and consent. They must also establish who was the marriage officer and the witnesses.”

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A confirmation of marriage document seen by The Citizen reads: “According to the records of the department Muhammad Elsie Zanele and Mgwenya Zanele is the same person.”

Fake marriages rife in Mpumalanga

SAHRC provincial manager Eric Mokonyama said Mgwenya was not the only woman complaining about fraudulent marriages in the province.

“The commission has learned of the sad story of Ms Mgwenya who discovered, as she was applying to register the birth of her child, that she is married to a foreign national known as Mr Muhammad,” he said.

“These cases are rife in Mpumalanga and violate women and their children’s rights as they seriously impact negatively on their lives and children’s access to socio-economic rights such as government grants. The commission is calling on the department of home affairs to resolve the cases speedily and hold implicated officials accountable.”

Home affairs media manager David Hlabane asked to be provided with the details of the complainant to investigate the matter. “Please help us with her name and ID number so that the relevant business unit can investigate the matter,” he said.

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