South Africa: Petition for the Department of Home Affairs to cater for stateless matrics
Published: 8/Jul/2021
Source: Weekend Argus / Independent Online (Johannesburg)
By Murphy Nganga
Cape Town – A heartbroken matriculant from Kensington High School initiated a petition to request that the Department of Home Affairs establish a matric ID or citizenship helpline for stateless children who are yet to write their finals.
Born in South Africa to foreign national parents, Karolyn Mujinga, 18, has an unabridged birth certificate without an ID.
“For the past two years, I’ve tried several times to apply for an ID, however the results has always been unsuccessful. Currently, I only have my unabridged birth certificate and that is not deemed valid anywhere.”
“With my petition I am calling on the Department of Home Affairs to create a citizenship helpline or provision for South African born refugees in South Africa to be able to apply for citizenship, so that I and many others like me can have equal opportunities,” Mujinga said.