HOME AFFAIRS APOLOGISES TO GAY COUPLE
The Department of Home Affairs has officially apologised to an engaged gay couple who were denied their right to marry by a Port Elizabeth branch.
Michael Cronje and Donovan Wynne were told by the North End, Port Elizabeth Home Affairs last month that the office does not “do” gay marriages. Their story was first reported by the Daily Dispatch.
On Tuesday, Home Affairs Eastern Cape Provincial Manager Sonto Lusu personally apologised to the couple telephonically.
“She apologised for the way we were treated. She was very sincere in her apology and very gracious,” Cronje told Mambaonline.
“She offered to arrange for an officer of the court to marry us immediately, but I told her that we have had enough of Home Affairs and we will marry privately,” he said. The couple plan to marry on the 1st of October through a private marriage officer.
Lusu told The Herald that while individual marriage officers are legally entitled to refuse to marry same-sex couples, every Home Affairs Office must be in a position to assist same-sex couples.
““We are investigating this issue. If an office finds itself in a situation where none of their staff is prepared to marry a couple, they must contact the provincial office and a plan will be made,” she said.
The apology followed the intervention of Lance Weyer, a DA Councillor in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, who contacted the DA’s Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, MP Annette Lovemore. She in turn contacted the Director-General of Home Affairs.
“Why does the Department of Home Affairs even entertain the appointment of marriage officers who are not prepared to conduct civil unions?” commented Weyer on his blog.
“The men in question, and other gay couples like them, are in love, and they wish to show their commitment to each other by entering into a civil union. They have a constitutional right to do so,” he said.
According to Weyer, the DA plans to bring up the issue in Parliament as soon as possible.
While an apology has been forthcoming, if Home Affairs had done their job correctly in the first place, and had taken into considerations every citizen’s needs, none of this would have been necessary. I’m sick and tired of apologies and if it wasn’t for the DA Councillor and Shadow Minister chasing the matter up, nothing would have been done. Why do we have to live like this? Why do we have to keep complaining before we get the service we are entitled to and structures are set in place to provide? It’s disgusting. The fact that no provision or “plan” was made to cater to same-sex marriages but will now, after the event, simply highlights sheer incompetence
I have submitted the following question for written reply by the Minister of Home Affairs :
1) With reference to civil unions involving same-sex couples, whether all Home Affairs offices equipped to conduct marriages or unions have access, at all times, to marriage officers who will conduct same-sex unions.
2) If not, (a) why not, and (b) what will be done to rectify the situation.
3) Whether marriage officers utilized by Home Affairs are contracted to do so, or whether they are in the full-time employ of the Department.
Just the response tells it all.if a staff member or all members of a home affairs office refuse to marry a gay couple the staff are required to contact the provincial office so that they can send someone out to perform the marriage that tells a person that our home affairs office staff have the right to refuse to marry a gay couple, come on just by the staff refusing them is discrimination in its self or did I misunderstand the courts and the president of south africa the day they announced that south africa would now legalize gay marriages and rights which means no and I strongly repeat no home affairs office or its staff have the right to refuse any gay marriage as that once again I strongly point out is discrimination which then makes home affairs liable for legal court auction to be taken against them and make them. What I also don’t get is how come a home affairs office have the right to say they don’t want to marry a gay couple if its against there culture or religion need to find other jobs as they are clearly not right for the position at any home affairs office am I getting my point across
same happened to my partner and i we had to drive to ghramstown.
i have never hated a town PORT ELIZABETH so much
the people and this place is a dump and i wish no one to come and live here.
this place is the worst place you can send someone to if you are married to the same sex .
i hope they learn their lesson and it becomes an industrial place for no living person.
how do we take action ? lets post this all over the world so no one supports this dump and it dies out….
Hi Michelle,
My partner and I have been trying to get married in Grahamstown since September last year.
First the immigration officer reluctantly gave us a interview date we had to wait over a month for only to be told after the interview we have to wait for a surprise home visit? Needless to say that never happened the interview was never put into the system and the Grahamstown immigration officer is on maternity leave. Since then we have been trying to get through to Port Elizabeth Home Affairs. After several trips to PE we finally had a interview with the Immigration officer there the end of December.
But the struggle is not yet over. Do you have any advise as to who can marry us instead of home affairs.
Thank you