Manko Molabe has been fighting since the birth of his son, Mosimanegape, in April last year to have the boy's name registered with the "s" character which, according to him, indicates that he is Mopedi. Without this character, Molabe said, his son's name indicates he is Tswana.
"To the department, it's nothing. To me, the identity of my kid is being compromised," said Molabe . "I don't need to lose my culture because the system is discriminatory. I feel that I should go to the Equality Court. I feel like I've been undermined as a citizen of this country."
Molabe said he first tried to have the boy's name registered a few weeks after his birth.
Mosimanegape, which means "it's a boy" was registered as Mosimanegape. The character in the name is pronounced as a "sh" sound.
Molabe initially thought the officials did not know how to type in the command used to create the character, but later found out that the department's system only caters for 16 special characters.
He said he had no choice but to register his son with the incorrect spelling so he could be added to the family's medical aid.
For months thereafter he was in contact with the department. In an e-mail in September the department said the matter would be resolved by January. It was not.
Said Molabe: "When a new minister comes into parliament, they upgrade his car almost immediately. Why should it take 16 years to add characters that were left out?"
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