‘Help my son get a birth certificate’
Mike Lethema is desperate for his son to have a birth certificate.
A REGENTS Park father of a 12-year-old boy is frustrated as his son doesn’t have the most basic of all personal documents, a birth certificate.
In terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (No 51 of 1992), all children born in South Africa must be registered within 30 days of their birth. A parent, guardian or other person legally responsible for the child is required to complete Form BI-24 and submit it to the nearest Department of Home Affairs office if you are in South Africa, or the nearest South African mission if you are overseas. Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge, usually a day or so after the application has been submitted.
Mike Lethema’s ordeal started when he separated from the mother of their son. “I’m from Free State and she is from Lesotho,” he explained. “We had our differences that led to her leaving me with my boy. All I wanted was to take care of both of them, however she decided to leave me. An affidavit was signed at Moffat View SAPS and she gave me all the rights to the boy when she left.”
Lethema then went to the Home Affairs offices both in Market and Rissik streets in Johannesburg, where he was told that a DNA test would be needed in order to prove that he is indeed the father of his boy.
“I mean, I lived with him since he was born in August 2006,” Lethema said. “My boy only knows me and I am his father. Now where will I get this R3 500 for the DNA test? I take care of my boy in every respect. All I want is for him to get a birth certificate. He is good in athletics, however he cannot participate because he doesn’t have birth certificate.
“I am appealing to whoever can help me to help my son to have this document,” Lethema said.
The COURIER has sent enquiries to the Department of Home Affairs as well as to the district manager: operations for the Johannesburg metro.
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