It's war on ID fraud

Over 700 000 must state why papers shouldn't be cancelled.

-  Ciaran Ryan

The department of home affairs (DHA) under Leon Schreiber appears determined to stamp out the decades-old problem of ID fraud.

Since 2005, the department has blocked roughly 700 000 IDs for reasons, including being unlawfully obtained by illegal immigrants, the Home Affairs biometric database flagging them as duplicates, or the owner having died.

Now the DHA has given those with blocked IDs 30 days to explain in writing why their IDs should not be cancelled.

The issue of blocked IDs was the subject of a Pretoria High Court judgment earlier this year when Phindile Mazibuko approached the court to stop the DHA from revoking her status as a permanent resident.

Backed by Lawyers for Human Rights, with LegalWise South Africa as an intervening party, Mazibuko also asked the court to review the DHA's decision to place a marker against her name and to confirm her status as a lawful South African.