Pensioner’s grant halted after alleged duplicate ID - IOL

Shiree Cupido's ID number has been duplicated which has become a national problem.

A Cape Town pensioner recovering from cancer is pleading with authorities to resolve the duplication of her identity number. The pensioner suspects fraud may have been committed because a woman in Benoni is allegedly using the same number and receiving her Older Persons Grant.

The problem facing Cupido is part of a wider national challenge. The Department of Home Affairs is investigating duplicate identity numbers on the National Population Register and working on measures to resolve affected cases.

In December 2025, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that, while the department did not have an exact figure for the number of duplicate identity numbers recorded on the National Population Register, efforts were under way to resolve the issue.

During a parliamentary question raised by ActionSA, Schreiber said duplicate IDs were caused by various factors, including identity theft, false registration of birth, multiple people sharing the same ID number and one person being allocated multiple registrations.

He said the problem was being addressed through the department’s rollout of a new verification function.

But for Shiree Cupido, 63, of Hillview in Lavender Hill, who is in remission and has undergone various surgeries, the new verification system has brought neither joy nor a solution.

Cupido and her husband, Kevin, 66, have now survived for nearly three months on one pension amount after her grant was once again abruptly stopped.

The couple said this was not the first time her grant had been stopped. The problem began in 2022, when she applied for the grant.

The desperate couple has made endless enquiries and visits to the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in recent weeks and years.

This included a fresh set of fingerprints submitted to Home Affairs in 2023.

According to Kevin, the problem lies with a woman in Benoni whose birthday is also November 17 and who was born in 1962.

Cupido said that, in desperation, they had been forced to take out loans and are battling to make ends meet with day-to-day expenses, including food, electricity and medical bills.

“I have been explaining myself to the authorities since 2022,” said Kevin.

“In 2023, she received her grant for a few months, and then it stopped. She received her pension for the first time in March 2023.

“We went to Sassa to ask why they had stopped it. They said that every time they entered her ID number, a woman’s name in another province appeared. My wife has not received her pension for nearly three months now.

“SASSA also provided her with a Postbank number in 2025.”

Kevin said they had some hope in 2023 after providing a new set of fingerprints.

“In 2023, I took her to Home Affairs in Wynberg with our marriage certificate. They took her fingerprints and she was cleared,” he added.

“In 2024, it stopped again and we went back to show that she had a Smart ID. Then the woman’s name was picked up again.”

He explained that, in 2022, a Sassa employee revealed that a woman in Benoni had the same ID number as his wife when she made her first application for a pension.

“In 2022, when she applied for an Older Persons Grant in November, she had her cancer operation on her 60th birthday,” said Kevin.

“Last year, she had another cancer operation. Now we are surviving on my money alone.

“We have paid our dues to this country and now have to fight this.

“We went back to Sassa this year and they began sending emails nationally to Johannesburg and Cape Town. They were instructed to pay her immediately.

Shiree Cupido's ID Book before she was married also had the same ID number.

“I have not heard from Sassa or Home Affairs again. That is why we decided to approach the media.”

Cupido said she had been left despondent.

Follow ups and enquiries to the home affairs department had not been answered by the time of publication.  

An extract of the email exchange, including Cupido’s ID number, was shared with Shivani Wahab, Sassa’s director of marketing and communications.  

Wahab said: “Due to the confidential nature of the beneficiaries’ personal information, SASSA cannot disclose detailed findings concerning an individual case through the media. However, the Agency recognises the financial hardship that such a matter may cause and will endeavour to have the case investigated and resolved as expeditiously as possible.”

Wahab also said where fraud or identity theft is identified, the matter will be referred to the relevant law-enforcement and fraud-investigation authorities.

Wahab said they would be in contact with Cupido. 

“An alleged duplicated identity number and the possible payment of social grant funds to another person are serious matters requiring verification in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs.

“The investigation will include confirming the client’s identity and biometric information, examining the relevant grant and payment records, and establishing whether any irregular or fraudulent activity has occurred,” said Wahab.