{"id":50958,"date":"2026-02-26T16:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=50958"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:05:18","slug":"khoisan-student-smart-id-with-special-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/26\/khoisan-student-smart-id-with-special-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"Khoisan student becomes first to receive South African smart ID with special characters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>A technical system upgrade has enabled the official recognition of Khoisan traditional names for the first time in South African history.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A young Khoisan man\u2019s battle to have his identity recognised has finally come to an end after more than 18 years of struggle.<\/p>\n<p>For approximately two decades, IT limitations prevented !Kh\u016bboab Oedasoua Lawrence and his family from obtaining official documents that accurately reflected his name.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-first-of-its-kind-smart-id\">First-of-its-kind smart ID<\/h2>\n<p>The system was unable to print his first name, \u2018!Kh\u016bboab\u2019, due to special characters (non-alphanumeric symbols and punctuation marks).<\/p>\n<p>Now, the student based in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, has become the first recipient of an enabling document recognising a Khoisan traditional name.<\/p>\n<p>Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber presented Lawrence with the first smart ID card featuring special characters on 26 February, a milestone in the Khoisan community\u2019s fight for rights and recognition.<\/p>\n<p>Schreiber\u2019s spokesperson Carli van Wyk\u00a0said the minister was informed about Lawrence being unable to obtain a Smart ID reflecting his Khoisan first name a month ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to reports, his family had the same problem over 18 years ago when they were similarly unable to obtain a birth certificate that accurately reflects the spelling of his first name,\u201d Van Wyk said on Thursday<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing intervention from the minister, the department prioritised the matter and managed to identify the root of the problem as a technical IT limitation related to the use of so-called \u2018special characters\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: Home Affairs rolled out over four million Smart ID cards in 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-traditional-khoisan-names-now-recognised-after-upgrades\">Traditional Khoisan names now recognised after upgrades<\/h3>\n<p>In less than four weeks, the department implemented the necessary upgrades and resolved the limitation, Van Wyk said.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, birth certificates, smart IDs and passports are now able to recognise and record Khoisan traditional names for the first time in South African history.<\/p>\n<p>Home Affairs director-general Livhuwani Tommy Makhode will be issuing a circular to all offices informing them of the upgrades.<\/p>\n<p>The department\u2019s technical team is also on standby to effect further upgrades should there be a need to adjust additional special characters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch: Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber hands over smart ID to !Kh\u016bboab Oedasoua Lawrence<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Home Affairs has delivered a historic victory for the inclusion, equality and dignity of Khoi-San communities, as I today handed over the very first Smart ID containing a traditional Khoi-San name to !Kh\u016bboab Lawrence, a first-year student at Stellenbosch.<\/p>\n<p>A month ago, I found\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ncs6TSc0AN\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/ncs6TSc0AN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Leon_Schreib\/status\/2027037290036404266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-diverse-people-unite\">\u2018Diverse people unite\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Schreiber said the upgrades were a historic step forward to enhance the inclusion and dignity of Khoi-San communities in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs minister, I recognise that a name is more than a practicality \u2013 it is central to every person\u2019s identity. I am therefore very proud that we were able to correct this long-standing problem within record time after becoming aware of it,\u201d Schreiber said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouth Africa\u2019s national motto uses these same characters when it implores: !ke e: \/xarra \/\/ke, literally meaning \u2018diverse people unite\u2019. For the first time, this motto has now found expression at Home Affairs for the Khoi-San community,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The reform, the minister said, offers the latest powerful demonstration of how \u201cour reform drive towards digital transformation is delivering dignity for all\u201d.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-khoisans-fight-for-recognition\">Khoisans\u2019 fight for recognition<\/h3>\n<p>The Khoi and San people in South Africa have been fighting for recognition for many years.<\/p>\n<p>For nearly six years, a group of people from the Khoisan community camped on the grounds of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.<\/p>\n<p>They did so in protest, fighting to be recognised as the country\u2019s first indigenous people, for the Khoisan language to be made part of the official languages, and for the coloured identity to be scrapped.<\/p>\n<p>They were evicted in February 2025.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOW READ: \u2018I want to fight back, but I\u2019m tired\u2019: Khoisan member reacts after Union Buildings eviction<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Khoisan #student #receive #South #African #smart #special #characters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A technical system upgrade has enabled the official recognition of Khoisan traditional names for the first time in South African&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50960,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50958\/revisions\/50960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}