SEE: "I was married to a man for 15 years and we never met!"
Imagine being married to a man you have never met, nor did you consent to this union...
We have often heard of stories where South Africans IDs have been illegally used or acquired by foreigners to gain citizenship. However, actually going through it and being a victim of this fraud is a really scary thing.
Elize O' Brien, a mother of four from Pretoria, has been going through this ordeal for more than 15 years. According to the Department of Home Affairs, she is listed as married to Khaled Elshahhat Ally Elsharakawi since 2006.
She was never married and yet this heinous crime ruled her life for more than 15 years. We cannot even comprehend what that must've felt like. Thankfully, her ordeal has come to an end as the Gauteng High Court declared that she had allegedly entered into a marriage that was not valid.
But it doesn't just end there, it's not that easy to just pick up and move on. This affected her life in more than one way.
"She is jobless and lives in poverty, as she could not have applied for a job for 15 years while her identity document wrongly reflected that she was Mrs Elsharakawi," IOL reports.
I am bitter and upset. Home Affairs married me to a man I did not know. He, in turn, used me to obtain South African citizenship. Meanwhile, I am the victim in all of this. I never partook in a marriage and I never signed a marriage register.
She had made the discovery of her 'marriage' after the birth of her first child. She and her partner had gone to Home Affairs to register their baby girl, and she wanted to register her under her name, and to her shock, the Department informed her that that name would be Elsharakawi.
"She said despite her protesting, she was given two options; either register the child under her so-called husband’s name, or under the name of the child’s father. She chose the latter, but O’Brien was not happy as she felt her child was deprived of the surname that she deserved." (IOL)
Elize went through a tormented ordeal trying to get herself out of this mess that seems to have been the fault of someone else. It seemed that an investigation was only pursued when she decided to go to the media in 2018.
The sad reality is that all that time she has lost is because of someone else who chose her ID number to commit a crime. There has yet to be any accountability in this situation and yet she and her family have bared the brunt.
With the help of the Wits Law Clinic, her case was taken to court and that is how she is finally rid of this marriage. If you were ever afraid of marriage, we guess this story is definitely not a good one for you.
But let's make sure to be more proactive in protecting your identity and report any fraud to the helpline. To report any corruption you can call this toll free number 0800 701 701.
Image Courtesy of Facebook