Fake marriages a global problem

Mmamasoabathe Noko from the Foundation for Human Rights says foreign nationals obtaining documentation in exchange for money does not only occur in South Africa.

“While this is not a desired way of doing things, we have to recognise that when people are frustrated, they are going to try to circumvent the system, especially in South Africa where we have a huge backlog of asylum seekers or those seeking refugee status,” she says.

Noko was weighing in on a social media debate, which was sparked by veteran South African actress, Manaka Ranaka’s viral TikTok video in which she slams South African women, who agree to marry foreign nationals in exchange for money.

SPEAK OUT SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦 🇿🇦🇿🇦🔥🔥🔥📣📢🔊🔉🔉🔥🔥🔥
Our sisters are selling our country, Ranaka Manaka sounds the alarm‼️ pic.twitter.com/SQcVtb12T0

— trthsa@SA❤️ (@truthsalovesa) August 13, 2024

She says she is also aware of foreign nationals who possess the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) but are still awaiting their papers due to the huge backlog at Home Affairs.

Noko says the disparity between the number of foreign nationals present in the country and those who circumvent the system is too distinct. She says only a small fraction of foreign nationals engage in unruly ways and violate the country’s rules.

“We must not paint the issue as applying to all foreign nationals in South Africa because we then otherwise increase the xenophobic attitude prevailing in our society,” says Noko.

She believes that intervention is needed to tackle challenges that lead people, including women, to enter into marriage of convenience just to have money to put bread on the table.

“As a nation, we need to deal with unemployment, high levels of poverty and inequality that we find ourselves in, because I don’t think that women would enter into such circumstance lightly, if they had better opportunities,” says the Human Rights Foundation’s Programme Manager.

Noko says the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and the Protection of Refugees, which Parliament adopted in April and seeks to tighten up the country’s migration laws, poses an extreme problem.

Her organisation feels that the government did not do enough to consider some thorough comments they have submitted.

“The biggest challenge with how our government has dealt with the migrant community is that it paints everyone who comes into the country with one brush and unfortunately we have some of today’s challenges in the country because the government system doesn’t adequately deal with the backlog of asylum seekers and those applying for refugee status,” explains Noko.

She fears the White Paper will eventually give the government the carte blanche to do what they are not supposed to do. Written by Odirile Rabolao