Lumumba Chia, who fled to South Africa in 1999, remains unable to obtain travel documents despite holding refugee status, preventing him from visiting his son in Belgium.
Chia shared his experience at a World Refugee Day symposium held in Salt River on 18 June. He explained that he applied for a refugee identity document more than two decades after arriving from Cameroon but has received conflicting information from Home Affairs officials about delays.
Without the refugee ID, Chia cannot apply for travel documents. He said one official mentioned a system flag while another found none.
Panellists at the event, including Fatima Khan of the University of Cape Town’s Refugee Rights Unit, discussed broader barriers faced by refugees and stateless people in accessing documentation and citizenship under South African law.
Speakers noted that an estimated 4.5 million people worldwide are stateless, with many children affected when migrating with parents.
