By Anita Dangazele
A Qonce grandmother, Nozange Keli, 65, was thrilled on Sunday when she registered to vote.
She had wanted to register for the last 30 years but did not have an identity document (ID), as her parents who were farm workers died without IDs.
That all changed in November last year when she finally acquired an ID.
And when the mother of six adult children and eight grandchildren registered at the Matsa Senior School voting station at Ethembeni village near Qonce, her delight was clear to see.
Nozange dropped out of school while in Grade 5 at a now-defunct farm school in Qumrha. She worked on farms and later as a domestic worker in East London.
It was only in November 2023 that she was able to apply for an ID and, subsequently, an old-age pension grant which she received for the first time in January 2024.
“I had no birth certificate, no baptismal certificate, nothing to confirm who I was and who my parents were or where I was born.
She had to go back to the farm where she was born to get sworn statements from people who knew her and her parents when she was growing up in order to qualify for an ID. But it was worth the effort.
“Since 1994, I have been praying that I should not die before having an ID and casting my vote,” Nozange said.
Pictured above: An IEC ballot box.
Image source: X
