Long wait to annul fake marriage

Imagine having to put your life on hold due to an administration error…

That’s exactly what has happened to Elsie Mgwenya, a 47-year-old mother of three from Marite in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.

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She is trying to get to the bottom of a fake marriage to a foreigner.

She blames the department of home affairs for the mistake and is desperate for the fake marriage to be annulled.

Mgwenya is unable to get married or obtain a birth certificate for her son and she fears her fiancé, who she’s been with for more than 20 years, could give up on her.

What’s scary is that this is not an isolated case. SA Human Rights Commission provincial manager Eric Mokonyama 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 socioeconomic rights such as government grants.

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“The commission is calling on the department of home affairs to resolve the cases speedily and hold implicated officials accountable.”

Home affairs are looking into the matter, with The Citizen’s help. But all Mgwenya can do is wait…