ID book hunt leads to 'death'

2008-09-26 21:09

Nelspruit - After trying for 15 years to get an ID book, David Tickie Nkosi was declared dead instead.

Nkosi, 48, who lives in Matsulu C near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga has been applying for a green barcoded identity document since in 1993.

"I'm getting older by the day and can't even open a bank account or get a job. The house my family lives in is registered in my wife's name because she's the only [one] with an ID book," he said.

The family, which includes three children, lives off the money his wife earns when she works in their neighbour's vegetable fields.

After he'd applied for his new ID book in 1993, he was told to apply for a temporary ID if he wanted to vote in the first democratic elections of 1994.

By 1998, he still did not have a proper ID book and was advised to apply for a passport, which may speed up the application of his ID book.

"To my surprise, in 2003, I received my death certificate in my postbox," he said angrily.

He said he had done everything Home Affairs had asked him to do, including providing his parent's IDs and marriage certificate and baptism certificates.

"I haven't even received the passport I applied for. I suspect someone out there is playing tricks with me," he said.

Manager of the Department of Home Affairs in Mpumalanga, Robert Zitha, said there had been a problem capturing Nkosi's fingerprints.

He advised Nkosi to go directly to Nelspruit regional manager Enoch Mashiloane or office manager Johanna Molekwa for assistance.

- African Eye