Humiliated by two Home affairs official from the Centurion branch

Today as a citizen of this country, a country that birthed my forefathers as well received the most humiliating treatment that I would never even wish for my worst enemy.

I went to the Home Affairs Centurion office to collect my smart ID, passport, and my daughter's passport.

Upon waiting 3 hours outside, I was finally let in where I waited for more than an hour for my number to be called to the counter, which was counter 4. I informed the female official that was assisting me that I am collecting an ID card, passport, and my daughter's passport. She then proceeded to interrogate me about the whereabouts of my daughter and why do I not have a number for her. I responded to her by saying that my daughter is 4 years old and the security at the door gave me one number as he said I had mistakenly missed one number when writing the ID number on the collecting list.

She proceeded to cross-question me about the holiday that I am taking with my daughter and the dates of our departure. Although I found this strange as this is my second passport, I was not asked these questions before by any official during my first and second applications but now that I need to collect I am being crossed questioned just for collecting.

She went and called a male official and escorted me to a room where I was asked about my origin. These were the questions asked by the 2 officials: Where was I born? Where do I come from? Where did I attend school? They requested ID copies of my parents.

I need to clarify something which I am sure Home affairs has a record of. I was born in Acornhoek, Bushbuckridge in 1987 I am a Xitsonga native speaker My first ID document was issued in 2005-01-021 My first passport was issued in 2009

When I asked why I am being interrogated, I was told that they suspect that I am involved in ********** activities. What ********** activities? This question was not answered by either of them. I responded to their questions and then told them that I am not sure if I will be able to provide my parents' ID copies as they died when I was young but I am sure I can get their ID numbers and copies of their Death Certificates. I called my aunt while they were still in the meeting and requested that she sent copies of IDs or Death certificates. During this call with my aunt, I was speaking in my native language. The male official then said to the female official that "she speaks Languange from Bushbuckridge". The female official said it doesn't prove anything she still wants me to provide my parents' ID documents. I was left in a room alone and I was told that I can only approach them if I have the documents that they have requested. My aunt sent copies of the IDs and I went to the male official with the photos that I sent to me by my aunt. While I was signing the documents the male official said to me, they suspected that I am a foreigner because I spoke broken Sepedi. First of all, I don't speak Sepedi. I only conversed with both of them in English and Xitsonga.

I walked out of Home Affairs humiliated, degraded and ashamed even to be called a citizen of this country. I felt stripped of my right to privacy when I was cross-questioned about my Holiday. I have never left South Africa before and to think that the same department that holds my identification is questioning my citizenship puzzles me. I am proud to be Tsonga and I speak it everywhere, even when I was on the bench I was conversing in my language with a lady that I just met today. I did not receive any apology from either one of them. I am not sure how South Africans are supposed to look if I as a South African, by birth a country, in a country that birthed my forefathers need to be isolated, put in a room as if I am a ********, a drug dealer or a thieve because of how I look and talk.

I am an educated South African and making a difference in this country in my work and personal capacity, I did not deserve what happened to me today. Will it suit Home affairs officials if speak their languages fluently? Will it make their lives better? Will they treat me better if I look like they do? The male official even spoke to me in Venda, will it make him feel better if next time I spoke to him in Venda? They work for the department but they do not even have name tags or name badges for us to identify them with.