Cape Town - Khayelitsha resident Siyabonga Zingeni thought he reached the light at the end of the tunnel when he finally got Home Affairs to declare him “alive” after a 10-year battle over his natural status.
But things have once again taken a turn for the worse, as he remains declared “deceased '' at places such as banks, traffic departments, and when applying for a house and jobs.
The 39-year-old was since 2011 declared “deceased” due to errors in his ID book which made it impossible for him to make a living and provide for his family.
After the Cape Times exposed his plight last year, Zingeni received a new ID and thought everything would return to normal.
But this week an emotional Zingeni said he was still declared deceased on the databases of many institutions.
“In 2020 after the Cape Times published my story I managed to get a new ID book. I was happy for a moment, only to realise that nothing had changed.
“The nightmare is still with me.
“When I go to other places such as banks, traffic departments, looking for employment, or applying for a house, I appear on their systems as a deceased person.
“I have been unemployed since 2011 because no one would want to hire a deceased person.
“I lost everything I had, including my dignity as a man. It pains me that my child grows up without seeing her father going to work like other parents.
“The only thing I do is to make sure that I wash and iron her clothes or help with homework, and that is the least I can do,” said Zingeni
Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza said the department had a memorandum of understanding with various institutions which enabled them to access the department’s information to verify a person’s details.
He said they would send the institutions wanting confirmation of Qoza’s status the information today.
“Mr. Siyabonga Zingeni is reflected as alive on the National Population Register.
“He has been furnished with a confirmation letter.
“Institutions requiring to authenticate the status of Mr. Zingeni are requested to call the Home Affairs number that is contained in the confirmation letter.
“Instead of waiting for the two institutions that are giving Mr. Zingeni an inaccurate status report to come to us, the department is going to send them the latest information tomorrow (today).”
Khayelitsha ward councillor Anele Gabuza said he hoped Zingeni would be better off.
“We are aware of the matter and it is a sad one. The person applied for a house a long time ago but when he gets a house he appears as deceased. That needs to be fixed because he has to work to provide for his family. The issue of people appearing on the system deceased but they are still alive needs to be looked at carefully,” said Gabuza.
Cape Times