For the past six years, the life of an unemployed mother has come to a complete standstill. 35-year-old Charlotte Sampson from Eldorado Park Extension Seven said that the past few years of her life have been a nightmare.
“When I went to register my third born child I found out that I was fraudulently married to a foreigner since 2008, and I have been struggling to get help ever since,” said Sampson.
The mother of four said that she visited the Home Affairs offices in Johannesburg CBD, Pretoria and Orlando countless times but leaves disappointed.
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“Every time I go to Home Affairs they tell me that they are investigating the matter. When I arrived in Pretoria all they did was print out the marriage certificate, which only shows my identification number.
My so-called husband’s identification number is nowhere to be found. “He cannot be found on the system. It is now six years later. Many visits, countless phone calls later and nothing has been done,” said Sampson.
Wayne Beukes who is Sampson’s boyfriend and the father of her four children explained that their family has suffered due to this fraudulent act. The couple plans to get married but is unable to because according to the law Sampson is already married. “It’s been a difficult time for us.
“We’ve had to face judgement from family, friends and even the church. I want to do the right thing and marry the mother of my children, we don’t know who else to turn to,” said Beukes.
“The couple said that they have approached ward councillor Peter Rafferty in hopes that he would be able to assist them.
“When visiting the Home Affairs office in Extension Five, Puleng Muagi, one of the staff members said that the local office does not deal with any kind of investigations. “That is why we referred the couple to our offices in town and Orlando,” said Muagi.
Thabo Mokgotla who is the Home Affairs spokesperson was unavailable for comment.
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