‘Mixed up’ KZN corpses laid to rest

After waiting for two weeks the Duma family in Nyandezulu, South Coast  has finally laid their mother to rest.

This follows a mix up of two corpses after one was incorrectly identified at the mortuary.

The body of Sylvina Duma was released to the wrong family, resulting in her body being buried at the wrong location.

In an attempt to resolve the situation, the Nyamezela Funeral Service received approval to exhume the body which was buried at the Shezi family residence in Mhlabashana.

The body buried in Mhlabashana happened to be Sylvina Duma and the body of Thulani Shezi was still at the mortuary.

As soon as the body of Mrs Duma was exhumed, it was taken back to the mortuary.

On Saturday (6) Mr Shezi was buried at his home.

The Duma family buried their mother on Tuesday (9).

Mr Nyamezela Dlamini of Nyamazela Funeral Service said it received an exhumation approval from The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on Friday (5).

“This has taught us a lesson that when families come to confirm a body of a loved one, there should be something in writing to actually say that they agree that it is their body. But we made all arrangements and everything was in order and I believe both families were happy,” said Mr Dlamini.

Both the Duma and Shezi families confirmed that the funerals went off well and that it was the correct bodies of their loved ones.