It has been a month since Nomdakazana Teka's funeral was put on hold after her body allegedly disappeared from Abaxolisi funeral parlour in Engcobo in the Eastern Cape.
The family say this has caused them many sleepless nights as they tried to get answers from the funeral parlour with no luck.
Teka, 89, died at her home on December 27 and a day later her 87-year-old sister also passed away when she heard the news about her sister’s death.
Her granddaughter Vatiswa Teka, 32, said they called Abaxolisi funeral parlour as she had been paying a monthly funeral cover with them to fetch her body. They were told the two sisters had to tested for Covid 19 and their results came back negative.
Vatiswa said when they went to dress the two siblings on January 7 to prepare them for their final resting place they discovered that Nomdakazana’s body was missing.
“They were to be buried on the weekend of January 9. Nomdakazana was to be buried on Saturday whereas her sister’s funeral was on Friday. When I discovered that she was missing I asked to view all the bodies on the Covid-19 free side but she was not there,” she said.
Vatiswa said one of the workers said he was going to check at their other branch in Tsomo which is about 50km away.
“The following day the mortuary called saying they couldn’t find her but they had an unknown body and they believed there was a family that had buried a wrong body. I took pictures of the person and posted on my Facebook with the hope that the person they buried was my mother. Within 30 minutes the shocked family members of the unknown body and an exhumation was done but still it was not my grandmother,” she said.
Vatiswa said the funeral parlour had been keeping them posted of every step they were taking in trying to resolve the issue.
“The last update we got from them was today (Monday) and they said they will apply in court to have all the bodies buried between December 27 and January 9 resumed. All we want is for our grandmother to rest in peace in her final resting place,” she said.
She said they went to Engcobo police station to open a case but were allegedly told that there was no case as the funeral parlour had admitted their mistake and was trying to fix it.
Police provincial spokesperson Col Sibongile Soci said the circumstances surrounding the family members being turned away from the police station are being investigated by the station commander.
"SAPS has the duty to listen to all complaints by any member of the community and where there are criminal elements, a case must be opened," she said.
Inkosi Jongisilo Pokwana Ka Menziwa , director for research and cultural affairs and Vusizwe foundation said in order for a person to rest they need to be united with their ancestors so that they can be guided and oriented into the world of the afterlife.
“Should a family bury a wrong person it is expected that strange things would befall the family and these may attract some bad luck. Also the family buried in a wrong place might visit the family in their dreams and demand to be brought home which is added costs for the family,” he said.
The funeral parlour referred media enquiries to Ntumie Mtsi whose phone kept ringing unanswered and she also failed to respond to written questions sent to her. After several attempts her phone went straight to voicemail.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.