Equality court ruling hailed by funeral parlours

We want the playing fields to be even: Nafupa

INDIAN and white owned funeral parlours can operate in townships and rural areas without the fear of being intimidated or threatened, following a ruling by the Equality Court in Durban on Thursday.

In 2018, the National Funeral Parlours Association (Nafupa) made an application in the Equality Court against businessmen Muzi Hlengwa, Nkosenatsha Shezi, Lungani Hlongwa, and the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa (Nafupa-SA).

This followed allegations that their Indian and white affiliates were being intimidated and threatened by black-owned funeral parlours in the townships.

The three businessmen subsequently withdrew from Nafupa, as it did not approve of banning Indian and white funeral parlours from operating in predominately black areas.

Hlengwa, Shezi and Hlongwa went on to form a breakaway association, Nafupa-SA, and initiated the ban.

In its ruling, the court ordered the respondents not to prevent members from the association (Nafupa) from peacefully conducting their businesses and, in particular, preventing Indian and whiteowned funeral businesses from holding funerals in black townships and villages.

It further ruled that the respondents were not to interfere with any of the employees or the members of Nafupa when conducting funerals in black townships and villages.

The respondents were not to damage and/or threaten to cause damage to the goods of members of Nafupa and, in particular, those goods owned by Indian and white-owned funeral businesses.

They were further ordered not to publish, disseminate or broadcast words to the effect that Indian and white-owned funeral businesses should not be allowed to conduct funerals in black townships and villages.

The deputy president of Nafupa, Mlungisi Simeon Chiliza, welcomed the ruling.

“We have a number of Indian and white-owned parlours under our organisation. We brought the application forward because we believed in fairness. Nafupa-SA is a breakaway group from our organisation. The group was formed because we did not want to stop Indian and white funeral parlour owners from operating in the townships.”

President of Nafupa-SA Muzi Hlengwa said they were fine with the ruling.

“All we wanted to do is even the playing field. We are not some kind of mafia or hooligans we wanted fairness. We would like to extend our apologies to all those who were negatively affected.”

Indian funeral parlour owners say they now felt free to conduct their work.

Dhayalan Moodley, who has a funeral parlour in Durban south, said: “It is only fair. Black-owned funeral parlours come into our areas and conduct business and we do not have a problem with it. This is a free enterprise and everyone should get a fair share of everything.”

Moodley said his staff had also previously been threatened.

“This was eating at our livelihood, and through court action, things began to simmer down. This is a step forward for us.”

Lenny Reddy, from Wyebank Funeral Services, said the majority of his funerals were done in the rural communities.

“Since the ban, we have had to be so careful as our staff was being threatened. Race should never be a factor in anything we do. We live in mixed-race communities, and our children go to mixed-race schools. This is nothing different.”

Raj Pather, of Mariannhill Funeral Services: “I am hoping this ruling will help us work amicably.”