Johannesburg – The department of home affairs is investigating a case of mistaken death after a man was told he died last year, the Cadet News Agency reported in the Saturday Star.

The office of the deputy director general of home affairs Vusi Mkhize said a key part of the investigation was finding the person who registered the death.

“In South Africa, it is the responsibility of the next of kin or funeral undertaker to ensure that a death is registered with the regional department of home affairs,” the office was quoted as saying.

Pitso Molatuli, 28, applied for a bank loan two months ago, and after the bank ran his identity number, it discovered that he was registered as dead.

When Molatuli went to the Kempton Park home affairs department they confirmed that on their records he died on 16 November, last year, in the North West.

Molatuli was reportedly told to fill in forms and apply for a new birth certificate, but he refused.

He opened a case against the department but said he has not gone to court yet because of the investigation.

SAPA