Fraudulently married woman receives justice after 15 years

Elize O’Brien, of Reiger Park, is breathing a sigh of relief after the Pretoria High Court recently ruled in her favour to annul her illicit marriage to Elshahhat Ally Elsharakawi, who she was fraudulently married to 15 years ago.

In 2018, the Advertiser reported that O’Brien discovered in 2011 that she was married when she went to the Boksburg Home Affairs office to apply for her child’s birth certificate.

The certificate reflected that her surname is Elsharakawi, while her son’s surname was correct as Kelly. She then enquired with the department and was given a marriage certificate as proof, which then clearly stated she was married in Germiston on February 24, 2006.

Her marriage certificate had no identity number for Elsharakawi but only his birth date, October 15, 1975.

The mother of four said after finding out, her life was turned upside down because she couldn’t marry her boyfriend, who is the father of one of her children, because, according to Home Affairs, she was already married to someone she didn’t even know.

The Advertiser then made follow-ups with the Department of Home Affairs, which said they would look into the matter and then asked O’Brien to visit their Germiston offices because apparently they had managed to get
hold of the marriage register of the alleged fraudulent marriage. However, nothing was done to rectify the situation.

Breakthrough
O’Brien said she was then approached by lawyers at the University of the Witwatersrand Law Clinic who offered to assist her.

On August 3, they won a case in the High Court in Pretoria where an annulment order was granted.

According to the court order, seen by the Advertiser, no legally valid marriage was entered into between the applicant and the first respondent in February 2006.

It further states the second (minister of Home Affairs) and third respondents (director-general home affairs) are ordered to take all necessary steps and measures to authorise and ensure the correction of all records at the
department of Home Affairs, including the population register and marriage register by changing the surname of the applicant from Elsharakawi to her rightful original surname, O’Brien.

The court ordered the Department of Home Affairs to comply with this order within 30 court days and furnish the applicant’s attorneys via email with verification of compliance within the deadline.

Happy with outcome
In an interview with the Advertiser at her home last week, O’Brien said she is happy there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“I have suffered a lot due to this fraudulent marriage. It was like my life was stuck for 15 years. My human rights were violated and the justice system failed me and nobody has even apologised to me yet. I’m thinking of suing the department for the pain that I endured over the years.”

O’Brien said that while she welcomes the court’s decision she still wants to go to Home Affairs to witness for herself that she is indeed a single woman again.

The Advertiser is awaiting comment from the Department of Home Affairs with confirmation of the status of her marriage.

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