‘Marriage that wasn't' finally declared invalid
Elize O’Brien (42) – a mother of four married for more than 15 years to a man she has never met in her life – has had her ‘marriage’ entered into in February 2006 declared invalid.
The Star reports O’Brien has been struggling for years to try to convince Home Affairs that she had never met Khaled Elshahhat Ally Elsharakawi and that she was definitely not married.
She was jobless and lived in poverty, as she could not apply for a job for 15 years while her ID wrongly reflected her as Mrs Elsharakawi.
She said she had no knowledge who her ‘husband’ was, other than that Home Affairs records reflected he was born in October 1975, and they ‘got married’ in Germiston.
She only discovered her marital status in 2007 after the birth of her first daughter.
Wits Law Clinic eventually took on her plight and turned to the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), where O’Brien at last obtained justice.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
