Home Affairs tackles identity theft

Identity theft has once again reared its ugly head after it emerged that terror accused Samantha Lewthwaite fraudulently used a South African travel document when planning the deadly Nairobi Mall attack.

The Department of Home Affairs is due in court next week to oppose a challenge against their decision to cancel all suspected fraudulent identity documents.

Lindiwe, who does not want to give her real name, said she was scared the recent development would only lead to more problems.

The unemployed mother of one was arrested six months ago for crimes ranging from fraud to common assault.

However, she later discovered her identity was cloned after a week in jail.

Investigations are currently underway to find the fraudster and restore Lindiwe’s identity and credibility.

“I’m worried that I don’t have any form of identification. How do I get a job in a situation like this? I don’t even know if my ID is being used to commit further crimes,” she said.

Lawyers for Human Rights have dealt with very many cases like Lindiwe’s, where people are also denied access to education, health and even their bank accounts.

Liezl Muller from Lawyers for Human Rights said: “In terms of South African law you are innocent until proven guilty. But in this case, there is already a measure taken by blocking your ID or freezing your bank account which means you are considered guilty until proven innocent.”

At a press conference last week, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said the department was taking measures to stamp out such practices.

“We will invalidate all duplicate IDs on the 31st of October 2013 and all multiple IDs will be invalidated on the 31st of December this year,” she said.

But Lawyers for Human Rights is challenging this in court.

They want individual cases investigated before IDs are cancelled to ensure people like Lindiwe are not left in the lurch with no identity document.