Mix-up sees parents bury pauper

A UITENHAGE family unwittingly mourned the death of a stranger after the Gauteng health department released the wrong corpse for burial in the Eastern Cape in early February.

The Mdodana family are yet to receive the body of their son Monde from a Roodepoort morgue.

Monde‚ 29‚ a former Walter Sisulu University student‚ came to Mogale City earlier this year to look for a job. He was stabbed to death on his way from a job interview on February 7.

Although his father‚ Themba Sethenu‚ had travelled 1 000km to identify his son and take him home‚ the body of an unknown man scheduled to be buried as a pauper was put in his coffin.

The family claim the department informed them of the mixup a few hours after his burial.

“I thought since they had made that mistake they will speed up the process‚ but till this day we are still waiting‚” said Sethenu.

The poor family spent more than R15 000 donated by relatives and the community to recover and bury the unknown man.

They now have no money to bring Monde’s body back home for a second funeral.

Last month Gauteng health promised transport‚ a coffin‚ a grave and two minibuses for the second funeral but the family are still waiting.

Gauteng health spokesman Prince Hamnca said they had to follow procurement processes to obtain the necessary approval to appoint an undertaker to transport and bury the deceased and would cover all the costs for the funeral.

Hamnca could not explain what had caused the confusion since both bodies were tagged. — TMG