UNABLE TO GET MARRIED AND GET RESIDENCY - 21 YEARS LATER

We have been struggling to get married for the last 6 years. We were at Cape Town home affairs January 2017 to look for a date my husband had his Letter of No Impediment from the Congolese Embassy. We were told the procedure has changed and that we must go home and they will contact us. We left our ID's (my husband is a Congolese refugee) and the letter.

We went to check every 3 months and we were told to wait in the queue until we were contacted. This is up until today. So in 2018 January we went again. They told us to go up to 5th Floor to meet with Sakhile, the Immigration officer. He explained to us the new procedure and that my husband will need a copy of his original papers from when he first came to SA where he stated that he is single.

He advised that he will do his best to contact someone in the Pretoria office to assist, but we could try as well if we knew someone. We really need help to get our date and have our marriage legalised. We are engaged and paid lobola in 2016 already and we should be married by now, but struggling. My husband's name is Bawili Kamona Passport number PTD/00168/01. He arrived in SA 2001 and he is still waiting for his papers till today, it's been 21 years. He has been moved from pillar to post with no one giving him an answer as to where his papers are so we can continue our life in this country. He app**** a long time ago for residency.

I was born and raised in South Africa by my mom. I am a South African citizen, but as a South African to struggle to get married in her own country is like my rights are being ripped away from me. We now have a 5 year old boy. We cannot take care of him properly as all this is blocking us from doing so many things. We can never travel together, a simple trip like a cruise to Mozambique or another we are unable to even buy a house we can make a home. This is messing up with our livelihood and causing so much stress in many ways.

We need urgent help in this matter please. The home affairs department is slow and inefficient and we feel it is messing with people's lives. No one cares, you just get thrown from one place to another with no clear answer. A person will die waiting to get married in this country. We now have reached the end of the rope and are feeling defeated and do not know who to speak to or run to. I have emailed people in Pretoria about this and tried to call several times with no assistance. All correspondence below.

Please someone find it in your heart to assist us with this matter. We would greatly appreciate it and it would be life changing.