Durban - When a traffic official pulled Christine Panaino over and asked her if her surname was Mrs Khumalo, she thought he was joking.
However, the traffic official was referring to the new surname on her temporary driving licence.
Panaino, a businesswoman, visited the Alberton Licensing Office last week and unbeknown to her left the office with a new surname – Mrs Khumalo.
While travelling over the weekend she was pulled over in a road block leaving Pretoria.
“The traffic official asked me if I was Mrs Khumalo. I was shocked and I thought he was joking.”
Panaino said when he showed her the name that’s when she realised the error.
“To be honest I didn’t even check my details when I left,” said Panaino.
She said her licence had expired months ago and she (was only) able to get an appointment last week due to the backlog.
Panaino said she had waited for almost two hours.
She said thankfully she didn’t receive a fine for the error.
“The traffic officer was fantastic. He told me what to do to rectify it.”
Panaino said she had since gone to the police station and had a sworn affidavit that she carried around with her when she drove.
She said she had contacted the licensing officer and they took “all of 10 minutes” to correct the error.
Panaino has shared the document on social media which has gone viral with many people finding the post funny.
Here are some of the comments:
Alwyn Rivas: Wow at least you are alive. My friend went to renew driving licence to find out he is dead.
Lyn Chapman: Oh dear heaven. What is happening in SA. I have just renewed my passport in the UK and it only took a week. I was texted every step of the way and it dropped on my doorstep this morning. Professional and competently processed.
The Department of Roads and Transport said it was aware of the incident which took place on 20 September at the Alberton Drivers Licence Testing Centre (DLTC).
“The department understands that this incident was as a result of human error on the part one of the cashiers at the DLTC. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused,” said Theo Nkonki, Spokesperson to MEC Jacob Mamabolo, Department of Roads and Transport.
IOL
This story has been updated to reflect the Department of Roads and Transport’s comments.