Author: Tania Broughton

By Tania Broughton A woman and three organisations took Home Affairs to court for blocking Identity Documents without following a just administrative process. About 700,000 IDs were blocked as at September 2023, meaning people with these IDs could not obtain passports, could not vote, access health care, education or open bank accounts. Their children, who were linked to the IDs, suffered similarly. This week the Pretoria High Court found that Home Affairs has been acting unconstitutionally. The judge gave the department 12 months to remedy the situation. The blocking of IDs by the Department of Home Affairs, without notice, timeous investigation…