Woman shocked as funeral home leaves body on lawn

The body of government communications official Luxolo Mtombeni was wrapped in a green fleece blanket, placed on a stretcher and left on the lawn of the home he once shared with his partner in full view of neighbours.

The incident, which occurred at their rented home in Bhisho on August 3, has horrified Mtombeni’s relatives, but the funeral parlour, AVBOB in King William’s Town, says it was only following the instructions of the family.

Acting manager Thami Manuel denied the company broke any Covid-19 regulations when handling the body.

Mtombeni’s partner, Nolubabalo Mtombeni, told the Dispatch when the corpse arrived it was “dripping blood”.

Mtombeni, who was the safety and liaison department’s audiovisual specialist, died in a car crash on July 26. A postmortem was done on July 29 before the body was handed over to AVBOB.

Nolubabalo, Mtombeni ’ s former wife, described herself to the Dispatch as his fiancée.

She said she was at loggerheads with her former motherin-law, Nikiwe Mtombeni, over finances and the way the body was delivered.

Nolubabalo said she and Mtombeni had divorced for “convenience so we could settle our debts”.

Nolubabalo and Nikiwe confirmed Mtombeni lived with Nolubabalo before he died.

Both women agreed to have the body stop by the Bisho Gardens property so that a small memorial could be held, but Nolubabalo expected the remains to be enclosed in a casket.

Nolubabalo said she was “shocked, embarrassed and humiliated” when the undertakers placed the stretcher carrying the body on the lawn.

“I’m going to sue the company. My lawyer is on top of it as we speak. After writing to premier Oscar Mabuyane, we are taking this to court,” Nolubabalo said.

She said she felt nothing but shame as “nosy neighbours” looked at her husband’s corpse through the windows.

Nikiwe said “it was a mistake” from their end that they allowed the body to be “exposed” on the lawn.

Asked why the body was not in a casket and whether AVBOB had broken any Covid-19 regulations, Manuel said: “We are aware of and respect the Disaster Management Act with all the regulations as gazetted by our government.

“We also respect the religious and cultural values of our clients and we will assist in fulfilling those not in conflict with the Disaster Management Act and regulations.

“Our client [Busisiwe Mtombeni, Mtombeni’s sister] requested and arranged with us to pass at the residence of the late Mr Mtombeni on our way back from [collecting] his mortal remains from the forensic department to our mortuary in King William’s Town.”

He said the “next arranged ritual was to drive via Bedford (the scene of the accident) on August 6 on their way to deliver the remains at AVBOB’s Komani branch, which handled the funeral on Saturday, August 8.

“Our clients were here at our King William’s Town offices [on Thursday] and assured me everything was to their satisfaction during the ritual You [Dispatch] are sensationalising.”

Mabuyane’s spokesperson, Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha, said the premier felt sorry for Nolubabalo and sent his “heartfelt condolences for her loss”.

“The matter at issue looks like a matter that can be looked into by relevant institutions outside the provincial government.

“We wish the family strength as they deal with this matter and their sad loss.”