Bat-wielding families storm into autopsy room

HEALTH workers say they watched in terror this week as family members stormed the Phoenix mortuary and demanded that bodies of their loved ones, some of which have been there for more than two years, be released.

And they have warned that if another disaster hits Durban there won’t be any space for more bodies.

Independent Media was told that this week aggrieved family members even entered the area where autopsies were under way.

A mortuary worker relaying accounts of the incidents asked to remain anonymous because two other staff members were recently suspended for complaining about the poor working conditions.

The worker said the public’s anger took a twist yesterday when about 40 people, some armed with baseball bats, again forcefully entered the state’s medico-legal mortuary and blamed staff for the lengthy delay in handing over the bodies.

“I fear for my safety. It’s almost as if the Health Department is waiting for something to happen before they do anything about the situation.”

The mortuary workers said they were severely understaffed and were expected to work long hours, including weekends and public holidays, even when threatened.

“We fear for the safety of all staff because they are being blamed for all the problems here but we are not at fault.”

Last week Independent Media reported that political parties had called for a full investigation into the fly-infested mortuary where dozens of smelling corpses had been piling up on the floor. Some are of victims of the violence that engulfed Kwazulu-natal and parts of Gauteng last year, and those who died in KZN this year.

Nehawu’s Durban regional secretary, Prince Mathalane, said there was a huge police presence at the mortuary when they arrived there yesterday to hand over a memorandum of demands to the department. Police confirmed it.

“Our biggest demand is the reopening of the Gale Street mortuary,” said Mathalane. “There is no space in Durban.”

The Health Department could not be reached for comment yesterday but last week it said a number of resolutions had been taken to resolve the problems.