Family fury as postmortem delays stall burial plans for Mpumalanga woman
A family says repeated delays in releasing a loved one’s body have left funeral plans in limbo and sparked threats of legal action.
A family from Rolle Trust in the Bushbuckridge municipality says they have been left frustrated after funeral plans for their loved one were repeatedly delayed due to a postponed postmortem by the Limpopo Department of Health, reports Lowvelder.
The Sambo family had planned to lay Khensani Goodness Sambo (56) to rest in Rolle Trust tomorrow (June 25).
Khensani died during surgery at a private hospital in Hoedspruit on June 11. Because the death occurred under medical supervision, a postmortem was required before her remains could be released to her next of kin.
Her body was transferred to Maphutha Malatjie Hospital in Namakgale, Phalaborwa, where the postmortem was initially scheduled for Wednesday (June 17).
Based on that date, the family travelled about 128km from Rolle Trust to the hospital the next day (June 18), expecting to collect the body and proceed with funeral arrangements.
“We were very shocked when hospital officials told us the postmortem date had been postponed to the Monday (June 22). The reason we were given was that the pathology officer had family challenges that he needed to attend to,” said Calvin Sambo, Khensani’s husband.
Calvin said the family was forced to revise its plans and postpone the funeral. However, they were later informed that the procedure had been delayed once more due to the pathologist’s family commitments.
Lowveld Media sent an enquiry to Limpopo Department of Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambane. He said he was in contact with the next of kin and confirmed the procedure would take place on the same day the funeral was scheduled.
Tlangelani Ubisi, the deceased’s niece, said the family had exhausted all efforts to secure a confirmed date and was now considering approaching the High Court to compel the department to act.
She added that she was not aware of the latest date provided by Shikwambane.
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