His de facto mother, his toys, most of his clothes and even his three dogs have left South Africa. But 10-year-old Siya is stuck in KwaZulu-Natal after his application for entry to the UK was refused.
Siya has lived with his guardian Erica Grant Lewis since he was born. But she has struggled to legally adopt him.
After a violent home invasion, Lewis decided to emigrate to the UK. But despite a court order confirming she is Siya's legal guardian, the UK denied the boy entry. The UK home office ruled that the court order, which affirms that Siya’s birth mother transferred parental responsibility to Lewis, “does not constitute a recognised adoption”.
Lewis — or E, as Siya calls her — has already left for the UK, and is continuing her fight to have him join the family.
This week, Siya said: “My family is over in England. I miss them and I love them. Even my dogs and my scooter are with them. I just want to be with E. She is my mom.”
He showed the Sunday Times a letter he wrote to “Dear King Charles”, explaining his problem, his love for his family and dogs, and asking for help.
He added a postscript: “PS. Please let me know soon because my mom says she will have to buy me warmer clothes and some new boots as it can become freezing there.”
When Siya was born, his biological mother suffered several serious medical conditions and went into a coma during the delivery. At the time, his grandmother worked as a domestic worker for Lewis and her family in KwaZulu-Natal.
“When I heard there were issues with the birth, I rushed to the hospital, where I was told the mother was in a coma and that the medical staff did not have much hope the baby would survive,” Lewis said.
“I took him home, bathed and fed him and that was where our journey started. I knew this little baby was going to need a strong name to be able to face the challenges life would throw at him, so we named him Siya.”
He is the pride and joy and soft spot of everyone in our family. This entire situation has been very traumatic for everyone involved
— Erica Lewis
They boy became part of the Lewis family.
“He is the pride and joy and soft spot of everyone in our family. This entire situation has been very traumatic for everyone involved,” Lewis said.
The crime that prompted her to leave South Africa happened three years ago, when Lewis was working for an auction company. “I was working on the auction of a holiday home belonging to a client in Southport. We were attacked during a home invasion and I was stabbed. At times during that night I thought I was going to die.”
After surviving the attack, Lewis — who holds a UK passport — decided to move to Dover in the UK. Before leaving South Africa, she tried to formally adopt Siya but ran into hurdles.
“About a year ago, after making inquiries about the adoption process, I was given the name of a social worker, and Siya's biological mother and I did a paid consult on Zoom,” Lewis said.
“The entire appointment seemed to be all about finances and procedures and left us both overwhelmed and I did not find that we concluded this meeting with any further understanding of the next steps.
“I did further inquiry and research and made an appointment with child welfare, where we both attended a meeting that included other prospective applicants for adoption.
“We were identified as different from this group as the other people were registering to adopt a child whereas we were legalising a child known to us.
“We were asked to meet with a superior who discussed our situation at length. It was here that I learnt that a person over 50 was a negative factor in adoption. I was 50 when Siya arrived and was then 58. It was suggested that a young family unit would be sought out as a preferred family option before considering me or allocating Siya to me as the adoptive parent.”
She and Siya's biological mother then approached the high court in KwaZulu-Natal, where Lewis was awarded “parental responsibilities and rights”. The court specifically granted Lewis permission to relocate to the UK with Siya.
The Lewis family started planning the emigration. “We applied for entry clearance for Siya on a human rights basis, but he was denied because I have not formally adopted him.”
The UK home office letter, which the Sunday Times has seen, says a court order in which the biological mother gave over parental responsibility to Lewis does not constitute a recognised adoption.
Lewis is heartbroken. “Before we received word of the rejection we had already put our house on the market and our possessions and furniture on a container ship. I had to put Siya up with family friends and fly out with our three dogs to receive our property.
“His application is now up for reconsideration and we really hope we have a good answer this time, but I am also looking into the possibilities of adopting him here in the UK or getting permission for him to come over and stay with us while everything is finalised,” Lewis said.
The department of social development did not respond to questions about its policy on older women adopting children, or if it could assist with adoption procedures for Siya.
“Our position is that the South African government, through the high court, has given direction on the matter,” said acting spokesperson Bathembu Futshane.
• Lewis gave Sunday Times permission to name Siya, however, we have not used his real name to protect his identity.
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