JOHANNESBURG - Spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the man, who died on Tuesday, had claimed that he would be brought back to life two days after death.

“The man, who died last Tuesday, reportedly instructed his family not to take him to the mortuary.”

The family accordingly kept the body in their home since the death, and members of his church had visited the body as it lay in state.

Kupelo said that recently local residents began complaining about the smell emanating from the house.

“It has become a health risk,” Kupelo said.

A team of health officials, police and forensic workers would visit the family to convince them that the body needed to be properly disposed of.