Identity theft and fraud rob victims of their livelihoods as it results in home affairs blocking their ID numbers, barring them from accessing bank accounts, submitting tax returns and violating their constitutional rights.
The Miss SA pageant brought to light issues of identity fraud when the citizenship of former contestant Chidimma Adetshina was probed.
While said to be a South African citizen born to a Nigerian father and mother of Mozambican descent, home affairs announced on Wednesday night that there was prima facie evidence that her mother could have committed identity fraud in 2001, the year Adetshina was born.
Such fraud leads the home affairs department to block the victim’s ID number, leaving them with no options to make a living, access money or services, exercise their constitutional right to vote and sometimes rendering them unemployable.
Such as Mpumalanga man Vusi Nkosi, 41, who is being supported by his elderly uncle as his ID number was blocked in 2011 due to his identity being stolen.
Thirteen years later, his problem is yet to be resolved.
He said in 2011 he walked into the local Sars office to get his tax number. On entering his fingerprint, he was told his ID number was blocked and referred to home affairs for enquiries.
That is when he learnt at the Standerton branch that his identity was stolen by a Mozambican national.
“The guy from Mozambique is using my ID number, my name, everything. It’s just the picture that is different, which is why they blocked my ID. Home affairs asked me for my parent's death certificate, a letter from the school I went to, and even my clinic card so they can unblock my ID number.”
Officials were even sent to his place of birth to investigate and interview close relatives to try to confirm his identity and nationality.
For more than a decade, he said home affairs officials kept telling him his issue would soon be resolved. While working as a scaffolder at Eskom’s Tutuka power station, he learnt in September last year that his bank account was blocked when he tried to withdraw money.
My uncle was retrenched in 2022, and now he supports me and my wife. He pays our rent and buys us groceries every month. I owe him more than R24,000 right now, and I need to access my account so I can pay him back
— Vusi Nkosi
The bank had been notified that his identity had been cloned and had to block his account and remove his fingerprints off its system.
Despite waking up each morning for work, his salary was sent to the closed bank account which he could not access.
A frustrated Nkosi said having his identity stolen and left unresolved for more than a decade severely affected his life. He has been unable to vote in any elections since 2011 and is supported by his uncle.
“My uncle was retrenched in 2022, and now he supports me and my wife. He pays our rent and buys us groceries every month. I owe him more than R24,000 right now, and I need to access my account so I can pay him back.”
When TimesLIVE Premium enquired with home affairs about Nkosi’s situation on July 8, he immediately received a call from the home affairs head office in Pretoria telling him to apply for a new smart ID card. The home affairs department did not, however, respond to questions sent by TimesLIVE Premium.
An excited Nkosi told TimesLIVE Premium he was excited his matter was finally coming to an end. However, on Tuesday he announced that he had lost his job as his employer could not renew his contract without an ID.
“I lost my job on Monday because my manager asked me to bring bank statements, my tax number and my ID to renew my contract but I failed to do that because my bank account is still blocked.
“I tried to call home affairs to check for me and I was told that nothing has been done since July 12. But on Wednesday I received an email saying they are waiting for my ID card to be issued and the matter will be closed.
“My employer told me they can’t renew my contract until this matter is resolved,” he said.
Immigration lawyer Ashraf Essop said about 1.8-million citizens have had their ID numbers blocked due to identity theft. This despite a Pretoria high court judgment Van that in the absence of fair administrative process and any provision that permits this conduct, blocking ID numbers by home affairs constitutes unjust and irregular administrative action and is invalid as it is inconsistent with the constitution.
In a matter Essop won on Wednesday, the Pretoria high court again ordered home affairs to unblock the identities of five applicants who all had their ID numbers blocked.
“Once a person has an ID number, they always have that ID number, even if it’s fraudulent. There are people who might have two ID documents and give up one but the status and ID number belongs to them exclusively.”
Home affairs' prima facie evidence is still open to doubt until finalised
Meanwhile, home affairs said it required “space” to conclude its investigation into the alleged identity theft by Adetshina's mother.
“To safeguard the integrity of the process, the department will however not be commenting publicly again until we are in a position to announce the final outcome of the inquiry ... We also call on South Africans to support our work by safeguarding due process, respecting the constitutional rights of all parties at all times, and refraining from inflaming divisions.”
Lawyer and immigration expert advocate Simba Chitando said the home affairs' prima facie evidence remained open to doubt and due process.
Even if it is proved that Adetshina's mother indeed committed identity fraud, it does not mean citizenship of the two would automatically be revoked.
“In the case of Chidimma, section 2(4)(i) of the Citizenship Act provides any person born in South Africa, and who is not a South African citizen by virtue of foreign parents, has the right of citizenship by birth if he or she does not have citizenship of any other country. I am not aware of either mother or daughter's citizenship of any other country,” he said.
“Chidimma acquired citizenship by birth. The prima facie evidence of fraud, and or identity theft, is yet to be tested by the courts. It is too early to speculate on what action the department will take after their statement. Until the court finds to the contrary, Chidimma is a South African citizen deserving of all the rights and privileges available to South African nationals.”
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