The Department of Home Affairs has been hauled before the courts to force it to grant the child of refugee parents an ID so he can write matric exams.

The Refugee Alliance for Justice (RAJ) argues in court papers before the North Gauteng High Court that the department's failure to grant Clinton Batungasana an ID is barbaric, "as it seeks to punish the child for being born to refugee parents by denying him a formal existence in the land of his birth, thereby condemning him to a life without any rights, privileges or opportunities, in which suffering is all that is his lot".

According to the documents, Batungasana was born in SA on February 19 1996 to Angolan refugee father Claude Lembe Batungasana, and Congolese refugee mother Marie-Clare Ngoy.

It also states that the pupil has never left the country because of his not having an ID and a passport.

The RAJ also argues that this is not consistent with the country's policy on the integration of refugees into society.

"The plaintiff also needs the identity document so that he is able to avail himself to all the rights and privileges that are available to every free citizen of South Africa in the land in which he was born and in which he is growing up."

However, Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said being born in SA did not guarantee you an ID.

He said refugees were illegible to a special refugee ID and could apply for naturalisation over time.

"Being born in SA does not mean you are entitled to an ID. You can imagine what would happen if that were the case. People would come into SA just to give birth.

"There are countries where you will not even be allowed in if you are close to giving birth," he said.

Karabo Ozah, an attorney at the Centre for Child Law, said it was important to understand the parents' status as this could possibly explain why the pupil had not been granted an ID.

She said in SA there were also issues with children who came into the country when they were very young and ended up in orphanages or children's homes.