Home Affairs takes years off man

2008-11-22 08:24

Siphiwe Nyathi

Bushbuckridge - While most people would love to be younger than they are, Nikeleni Malatjie is, according to Home Affairs anyway.

A mistake in his identity book declares him 11 years younger than he is.

But Malatjie is 65 and is struggling to apply for a pension grant because his ID book mistakenly says he was born in 1954.

"I can't work anymore, the energy is gone and I should have been enjoying my pension grant with my grandchildren now, but the age difference is keeping me on hold," says the farm labourer from Buffelshoek in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.

He hasn't worked for three months because he is sick. He is terrified he'll die penniless.

"I may die any time soon and I will be buried like an animal as I don't belong to any funeral policy or community society club," he sobbed.

He said he has been unable to convince the department of home affairs of his real age because he hasn't got any proof or witnesses to his age.

He said he was given his ID book during apartheid and was too scared to ask officials at the time to correct it.

He was 26-years-old and was afraid that if he didn't have his ID book on him, apartheid soldiers would assault him.

"I wish my father was still alive so that he could explain when I was born. Both my parents are dead and I don’t know what to do. Using a walking stick and showing them the wrinkles on my face still does not prove anything."

Spokesperson for the department of home affairs in Mpumalanga, Joseph Mogakane, said Malatjie must try find a relative or get an affidavit from the police station verifying his age.

"We have to be careful because some people will lie about their age just to get a pension grant," he said.

- African Eye