Imagine growing up in South Africa without any legal proof that you exist. Thousands of children are trapped in a backlog of birth registration applications, leaving them unable to access the documents they need and forcing their caregivers into a lengthy bureaucratic struggle. This is the hidden cost of being invisible to the state. Daily Maverick’s Tamsin Metelerkamp reports.
Reporting by: Tamsin Metelerkamp
Filmed by: Joel Seboa
Edited by: Joel Seboa
Produced by: Emilie Gambade
Creative lead by: Malibongwe Tyilo
Sub-edited by: Kevin Flynn
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Chapters
0:00 Invisible to the state — children without birth records
0:55 Why registration fails: the barriers families face
2:07 A legal showdown at the Western Cape High Court
2:39 A backlog buried in disputed numbers
3:26 Inside the June 2026 court hearing
3:51 A constitutional right, and children left behind
