LERATA Mui Marumo from Naledi, Soweto, has never had an identity document that shows who he is or proves his identity.
For the past 25 years of his life, he has battled with having to prove who he is. He was born in South Africa but has nothing to prove it.
He said his life was at a standstill as he couldn't work for himself nor go back to school, further his studies or get a simple driver’s licence.
He told Daily Sun he grew up in the Free State, where he was raised by his gogo on his maternal side.
“My mum had me at the age of 17. Because she was still young, she left me with my grannies in Lesotho. She abandoned me just like that. Growing up, I knew that’s not my real family, so I had to find my family. I moved to the Free State to live with my grandmother at a very young age,” he said.
In 2018, Lerata decided to go look for his mother and fortunately, he found her.
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“After meeting my mother for the first time in 17 years, I realised we were using different surnames,” he said.
In an attempt to know who he really is, Lerata said that he went in search of his father.
He told Daily Sun he found him, and the father unfortunately rejected him.
“I tried to convince my mum to assist me in getting an ID, but she refused. I then learnt that that’s because she also doesn’t have an ID,” he said.
Home Affairs spokesman Siyabulela Qoza told Daily Sun the solution requires that they start by assisting the mum. He said there were some questions that he would need the family to answer to be able to determine how to assist.
