A local law student made history in Stellenbosch on Thursday (26 February) by becoming the first owner of a Smart Card ID to include a name with a special character.
For almost two decades, !Khūboab Oedasoua Lawrence’s mother has fought with the Department of Home Affairs to have her son’s name appear correctly on his official documents. Due to the uncommon punctuation mark in !Khūboab’s name, the Department’s system could not issue his birth certificate with the correct, traditional Khoikhoi spelling of his name.
Making history
Now, 18 years later, the first-year law student is the proud owner of a Smart Card ID with the traditional spelling.
“I don’t think it has really set in,” Leslé Jansen said on Thursday at the Stellenbosch Home Affairs branch. “This fight has not only been for my son but for all Khoi and San people who can now have their rightful names on their official documents.”
Jansen, herself a lawyer, reached out to the Weekend Argus to share her struggles with the Department. According to officials of the Department, !Khūboab’s name could not be registered due to the exclamation mark, which is pronounced as a click, in his name. It was this article that alerted Dr Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, to the family’s struggle.
At his birth, with only 30 days to complete registration, Jansen decided to adapt the spelling to Kh-Boab. Her plan was to have it changed at a later date, not realising it would take almost two decades to finally have it corrected.
Jansen says having her son’s name spelled correctly was important because of the meaning of !Khūboab. She adds that changing the spelling of his name changes the meaning. !Khūboab means ‘man of God’ and it was important for Jansen that her son carried that meaning with him.
For his part, !Khūboab says having his name now reflect his culture and history is a win for all KhoiSan people. “It feels like a huge breakthrough for indigenous people in South Africa, especially Khoi people. The fact that our language, arguably the most indigenous language in South Africa, wasn’t registered at Home Affairs was an oversight. Now today, for me to be the one to receive my ID and to break ground on that, it’s massive,” he explains.
Despite the bureaucratic challenges, mother and son say knowing other Khoi and San people can register their true names brings dignity to South Africans who have for too long been overlooked and marginalised.
System upgrade
The Department’s system predominantly features Roman characters and includes 32 special characters. Now, the exclamation mark has been added as the 33rd special character, but Schreiber invites all South Africans to inform the Department of additional characters that may need to be added. “Yes, it has been too long, but at the same time it has been a very gratifying process in how quickly the Department has responded. How quickly we have been able to find the IT solution. Going forward, we believe this issue is resolved for everyone and we are also waiting for the community to come forward with additional characters, and we will address those in the same way,” Schreiber said.
According to the minister, using the corrected Smart Card ID is more than a bureaucratic achievement, but a testament to his Department’s commitment to help restore marginalised South Africans’ dignity. “This is exactly what public service should be,” he said. Schreiber says what especially struck a chord with him was Jansen’s observation that the Khoisan phrase “!ke e: /xarra //ke” (meaning “diverse people unite”), which appears on the national coat of arms, contains an exclamation mark yet her son’s name could not be processed by a state department.
Schreiber says the issuing of !Khūboab’s documents, which will include his birth certificate, is proof that the two years of investment in the Department’s technology systems is reaping rewards. “Having a manual, paper-based system leads to the challenges we have had to deal with within the Department. The system has been neglected for 30 years and the investment in modernisation of the technology now makes it possible to solve problems faster,” he explains.
He says that despite the initial pains of overhauling the Department’s IT systems, it is proving itself, not only in !Khūboab’s case but in quicker and streamlined service delivery. Schreiber adds that the fact that !Khūboab’s ID could be issued within four weeks speaks for itself.
You must be logged in to post a comment.