A four-year nightmare of red tape that caused a loving couple stress has finally ended after their plight was highlighted in the Courier. Although Andre Beyers and Sarah van der Westhuizen tied the knot on September 29, 2015, their marriage was declared illegal by the Department of Home Affairs as their system still had Andre married to his late wife, Myrtle.
“They gave Sarah and I a marriage certificate but later said it was illegal as they still had me listed as being married to Myrtle, my first wife.
“We were married in 1964 and she died in 2012. A death certificate was issued on the same day that she died and Myrtle’s I.D. book was stamped ‘deceased’. “But the Home Affairs system showed that we are still married.” Constant calls to Home Affairs both here and Pretoria could do nothing to rectify the bungle.
A couple of weeks ago Andre came to the Courier to explain the couple’s predicament.
“A couple of days later, Girlie Dube, from Home Affairs in Dundee called and said everything had been sorted out.”
With the stress relieved, the couple decided to have a ‘re-enactment’ and last week went through a ‘legal’ marriage ceremony with Minister, Pieter Bester, presiding.
“We are currently on honeymoon in Gauteng as Sarah needed to getaway. “We are just grateful to Home Affairs for assisting us.”