Missing woman, 84, found dead

THE decomposing body of an elderly woman was found days after she disappeared from an old age home where she had only been admitted for a week.

Nontukse James, 84, who was suffering from dementia, had been living in her family’s home in Mncotsho village before she was moved to Shalom Old Age Home in Adelaide.

James’ son, Mzwandile Matiwane, said they’d had to bury their mother’s body in a hurry.

“Her body was badly decomposed and would not be accepted by any funeral parlour, so we had to bury her immediately.

“We couldn’t find a suitable caregiver for her [so] we assumed the best option would be an old age home.

“We would have liked to have her close by, but all the surrounding facilities were fully booked and she had been placed on waiting lists for months, while others were way beyond our affordability.”

Matiwane said his mother, who was enrolled on March 3, disappeared on the morning of March 9 and was found dead on March 15.

“The facility only informed me about my mother’s disappearance on the evening of March 9, after 10pm to be exact. How can a frail elderly woman disappear like that in broad daylight in the presence of other people? My mom was not a brisk walker, she [walked slowly].

“If they’d acted soon enough they could’ve found her,” he said.

Xolelwa Mketshane, 45, the caregiver on duty that morning, said everything “just happened so fast”.

“It was duty as usual that morning. I had bathed Ma James and the others and had just served them tea while I cooked porridge waiting for it to be ready.

“When I came back from across the hall after delivering tea to the men’s department, Ma James was not in her bed and the other ladies said she was in the loo, but she wasn’t. That is when I notified the house matron, Ellen Bezeidenhout, and that is when the search ensued.”

When asked if the facility had any security or surveillance cameras, Bezeidenhout said: “The institution is run by the Presbyterian Church, which cannot afford to hire security guards and pay for surveillance cameras. The old age grants paid by the elderly in our care are used to pay for their nappies, food and other expenses and are not enough to cover security.”

James’ memorial service will be held this Saturday at Mncotsho in Berlin. —