Human rights lawyers have called on the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to expedite the proper digitalisation of its records rather than handling with caution the unblocking of unlawfully blocked IDs.
This comes amid the DHA’s broadened investigation into the citizenship of former Miss South Africa finalist Chidimma Adetshina, which the department said had also highlighted the reason for it blocking certain duplicate IDs.
DHA further said Adetshina’s case had highlighted the urgent need for the digital modernisation of Home Affairs applications, adjudication and verification processes to insulate the department against fraudulent interference.
Attorney at refugee human rights organisation Scalabrini Centre, James Chapman said the movement towards proper digitalisation of DHA records is not new and came up in last year’s State of the Nation Address.
“Digitalisation should and must be prioritised and include digitalisation of birth registration records for all children born in South Africa.
“Moreover, going forward all births should and must be registered digitally as opposed to issuing hand-written non-digitalised birth registration to some and digitalised printed birth registration to others which is the process currently.
“In terms of ID blocking, hundreds of thousands of South African ID holders who followed correct and lawful processes to obtain their IDs, had their IDs blocked, preventing these South Africans from being able to access any ID-dependent services or opportunities. Banking, access to education and employment were all compromised by ID blocking. Administratively just processes should and must be followed before blocking any ID and such processes were not followed, resulting in approximately 1.8 million people being affected by ID blocking,” said Chapman.
While Adetshina’s case was an isolated incident which dates back 24 years, it “is not a basis on which to paint all South African nationals with the same brush of requiring an investigation into their legal identity,” he said.
“(Adetshina’s case) does not and should not caution Home Affairs against unblocking unlawfully blocked IDs, but should rather make it even more clear that lawful and just processes that are in keeping with administrative law requirements must be followed,” said Chapman.
DHA confirmed they would provide a final update once the investigation was concluded and that it intended to press criminal charges against all implicated parties.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said they noted with disappointment the “dishonouring of the vision enshrined in the Constitution” that every person living in South Africa should have their human rights protected and their dignity respected.
LHR called for calm in what they described as a “tragic travesty of justice” in the treatment of Adetshina and her family.
“In our pursuit of justice, it is imperative that we avoid actions that perpetuate fear, discrimination and violence. Voices of reason and compassion must prevail over those of division and hatred. This is a critical moment for us to stand together, to uphold the principles of fairness and safeguard the rights and well-being of all women in South Africa.
“The rule of law is the cornerstone of our democracy, demanding compliance by all, including state officials. Public servants and elected officials must respect the rule of law and adhere to court orders to ensuring that human rights are protected for all,” said LHR.
Last week, DHA said that since it had received the request from the pageant organisers on August 5 to verify Adetshina’s citizenship, it had conducted research, visits to hospitals, and site visits to verify information. It said prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Adetshina’s mother.
The department also broadened its investigation to identify and pursue any officials involved in the alleged fraudulent scheme, and is obtaining legal advice.
Cape Times