Home affairs has two weeks to reinstate the ID number of a four-year-old child born in Polokwane and issue him with a new birth certificate.
This is in terms of a directive issued by the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, her office said on Friday.
"The father and his child were improperly prejudiced by the conduct of the department," spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said.
The child’s father complained after his son’s birth certificate was revoked by the Lebowakgomo home affairs office without reasons being provided.
"The father is a South African citizen. He had the child with a Zimbabwean national, who held a permanent residence permit ... when the child was born on December 11 2014," Segalwe said.
The father alleged home affairs issued the birth certificate on January 5 2015 but when he approached Sassa to apply for a child support grant he was referred back to home affairs to confirm the validity of the certificate.