Women discover unknown ‘husbands’

PRETORIA – The number of false identity documents (IDs) and bogus marriage licences are on the increase, a South African documentation verification company said on Thursday.

This announcement was made shortly after the discovery that more than 40 South African women had discovered that they had been married without their knowledge to men using their IDs to gain South African citizenship. Ina van der Merwe, chief executive of the company Kroll MIE, said fake IDs and fraudulent marriage certificates used to obtain false citizenship papers were also becoming a headache for business.Over 20 per cent of documents tendered to the company for verification were false, she said.These included IDs, passports, marriage certificates, qualifications, drivers’ licences and criminal record checks.The Department of Home Affairs said on Thursday the 40 women were among some 2 000 checking their marital status on the department’s records, as part of a campaign to curb the problem of women being unknowingly married to foreigners.It said in a statement that it would continue to assist victims of such unions to expunge their marriages at no cost.- Nampa-SapaIna van der Merwe, chief executive of the company Kroll MIE, said fake IDs and fraudulent marriage certificates used to obtain false citizenship papers were also becoming a headache for business.Over 20 per cent of documents tendered to the company for verification were false, she said.These included IDs, passports, marriage certificates, qualifications, drivers’ licences and criminal record checks.The Department of Home Affairs said on Thursday the 40 women were among some 2 000 checking their marital status on the department’s records, as part of a campaign to curb the problem of women being unknowingly married to foreigners.It said in a statement that it would continue to assist victims of such unions to expunge their marriages at no cost.- Nampa-Sapa