Armed impi breaks out leader’s body
It’s unAfrican to delay burial, says uncle
AN ARMED traditional regiment has stormed a KwaZulu-Natal mortuary to get the body of a traditional leader after delays in performing an autopsy.
Employees at the Fort Napier Medico-Legal Mortuary in Pietermaritzburg, who asked to remain anonymous, said the regiment, armed with guns and knobkieries, forced their way in and demanded the body of Nkanyiso Zondi – son of Inkosi Ntsikayezwe Zondi of the KwaMpumuza tribal authority – which had been there for a week.
“They arrived around 7am on Wednesday. There was a group outside guarding the cars, another group near the entrance and another group inside.
“They pushed aside whoever stood in their way. It was a scary scene and, after we told them where the body was, they went and opened the fridge and took their body away.
“It was scary and anything was possible given that those people were grieving for their son,” said the employees.
They blamed Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo for their ordeal as he had on numerous occasions said that everything was under control at the forensic pathology mortuaries.
Nkanyiso was shot dead two weeks ago by unknown gunmen who are believed to have broken into his home at night and stolen a television set. He was following their trail when he was shot.
Dolo Zondi, the brother of the chief, said the delays in releasing the body had taken its toll on the family. Zondi said the family had been in communication with Dhlomo, but that had not helped.
He said it was unAfrican to delay a burial as that could interfere with the dead person’s journey to the spirit world.
“We decided to go and fetch our son and take him to the Pinetown mortuary in the presence of the investigator.
“We made it clear to those workers who were present that anyone who stands in our way would be dealt with. Things would have turned ugly had anyone tried to stop us,” Zondi said.
He said delays in performing the autopsy proved “beyond any doubt” that there were no contingency plans to counter the go-slow embarked on by mortuary staff.
“Our child has been in that mortuary for a week and he was supposed to have been buried at the weekend. What happened to us should not be happening to any other family. This was a total lack of respect on the part of the department,” he said.
Since the beginning of the workers’ strike about two months ago, Dhlomo has said there were contingency measures in place to address the situation.
However, many families have had to postpone funerals because post-mortems have not been performed. The contingency measures were never made public.
On Wednesday the Daily News reported that families waited all day in vain at the Gale Street Mortuary in Durban to get their loved ones for burial.
On Wednesday employees at the facility were arrested for contravening a court order to return to work, while others were arrested at Fort Napier earlier in the week.
The department did not answer questions on whether the go-slow was over, or on the incident at Fort Napier.
Department spokesperson Ncumisa Mafunda said: “The department at this stage is concerning itself with the allimportant task of assisting grieving families with the completion of autopsies, and will not be side-tracked by sideshows and smokescreens.”
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Popo Maja, said the matter had not been brought to their attention and they believed the provincial department was capable of finding a solution.
The DA said that threats and Dhlomo and the department’s high-handed approach would not resolve the crisis.
“The DA is aware that the department has never had a contingency plan to deal with the current impasse.
“It is very unfortunate and illegal that the family entered the facility armed and snatched the body and took it to Durban.
“This not only traumatised staff but also broke every rule in the book,” said Dr Imran Keeka, the party’s spokesperson for health.