Man (72) told he does not exist

Alex Matlala

LIMPOPO – PHENEUS Mahasha (72) of the Mahasha royal clan in Kgwekgwe outside Tzaneen does not exist and is merely a ghost.

This is according to the department of home affairs’ records.

Mahasha said he was at his wits’ end having to live from hand to mouth with his family because of this, often at the mercy of his neighbours. His ordeal started in September 2014 when the bank froze his accounts claiming he was dead and buried a few years ago. To make matters worse, Sassa allegedly cut his old-age grant.

“I am a married man with four children, 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. With the money I received every month, I was able to feed all the mouths. But that is no longer possible as I have officially been declared a ghost,” he said.

Mahasha worked at Duiwelskloof Primary School in the greater Letaba Municipality for over 44 years. He retired in 2007.

“I have already lost my furniture, my herd of goats and sheep and other valuables due to creditors who wanted their money. My house looks like a recreational centre because of people collecting this item or that because I failed to pay them.”

A senior official at home affairs department in Pretoria, Robela Mogane, said in a letter: “I have investigated your query, upon my investigation I discovered that the applicant was issued with the ID number of a deceased person. This is definitely two different people. I’ve just requested records on both ID numbers from Brits so we can unblock this ID number and the processing of a new ID book can continue. Feedback will follow,” reads the letter in part.

Home affairs senior officer in Tzaneen, Emily Ngobeni, asked Mahasha to be patient and undertook to attend to the issue.