An elderly woman, Ms Mphephu Johana Nghonyama (68), the mother of two children from Hasani-Dakari village outside Malamulele, struggled for almost 12 years without an identity document, until she was rescued through the intervention of a member of parliament, Ms Faith Muthambi.
"My hardship started after the death of my husband in 2008. I went to change my old identity document to get the new ID, so that I could access the estate of my late husband. When the new ID came, we found that my name and identification number had been swapped with another person whom I do not know," explained Ms Nghonyama.
She said that she had tried to visit the local, the district and the national office of the home affairs department in Pretoria, but nothing was done. "I was sent from pillar to post. I failed to access my late husband's estate and that led to my starting to work as a domestic worker to feed my two children. I even went to work as far as the Eastern Cape because I had no choice. It was very difficult for me to sleep at night. Every time when I woke in the middle of the night, I would cry and ask myself what I had done not to get an identity document, because I did not qualify to get any grant."
"Tonight, I will sleep peacefully because my problems have been solved. I thank Ms Faith Muthambi for her efforts. It was 12 years without any assistance."
Mr Eddy Chauke, a member of the community at Hasani Dakari, said that he had received this matter from the local civic stricture that Ms Nghonyama did not have an identity document and could not access benefits or the grant provided by the government. Chauke said that they had moved from one office to another for 12 years to seek help, but nothing came through, until he contacted Ms Faith Muthambi.
Muthambi referred the matter to Mr Musa Chavani, who is the Whip of the portfolio committee on home affairs. "I am happy today because we have managed to provide a solution to the challenge faced by Ms Nghonyama. It is our task to respond to this kind of challenge. We hope that the identity document will be delivered in two weeks' time," said Chavani.