Limpopo man’s remains exhumed 7 years after a pauper’s burial

A Limpopo family can finally find closure after the corpse of a relative who died in 2018 was exhumed, positively identified and handed over to them for burial.

The 32-year-old man died in a car accident on the N1 near Mookgophong and was buried in a pauper’s grave due to his unidentified status at the time.

According to South African regulations, local municipalities must provide a burial or cremation for bodies that lie unclaimed or unidentified for 30 days at designated facilities.

Police then registered a culpable homicide case.

Family searches for missing relative

After seven years of looking for the deceased and without any knowledge that he’d been involved in an accident, his family approached police in Mahwelereng for help.

ALSO READ: Man found sleeping next to bones believed to be from graves of his father and grandfather

Members of the police forensics department, along with local police, then approached the courts and were granted permission to exhume the unidentified body, as requested by the family.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the exhumation process, which started on 5 May, was a difficult, depressing and demanding task because the man’s remains had to be found among other unknown corpses buried under similar circumstances.

“[He] was identified through meticulous police investigation of fingerprints and DNA analysis,” Ledwaba said.

 No arrests have been made so far, as investigations into the culpable homicide case continue.

Shocking discovery

During the exhumation process, police made a shocking discovery of more than 40 corpses that were, according to Ledwaba, “not buried in terms of the set standard and protocol, after they were buried in a clustered fashion”.

ALSO READ: PICS: Over 100 suspects arrested in illegal mining crackdown in North West and Limpopo

He said Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe has directed that this unusual discovery be investigated further.

The matter is in the hands of the Department of Health and the local municipality, who are working with the police.

Health department launches investigation

Health department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana told The Sowetan that the department has launched an investigation and was under the impression that the burials were done according to the law.

He said the municipality had used an outsourced service provider to conduct the burials because the unclaimed bodies caused a backlog.

“We will, after having finalised the investigation, be able to pronounce ourselves fully on the matter,” Shikwambana said.

NOW READ: Woman burned and leg chopped off in Limpopo village