Chronicle Editor
Sunday News Reporters
BULAWAYO hotelier and gold buyer Ms Memory Ngwenya was finally buried on Friday, two days after her family had blocked her interment in a village under Chief Sogwala in Lower Gweru, Midlands province.
Ngwenya, a prominent businesswoman and socialite, succumbed to Covid-19 last Monday. She was the owner of the Continental Hotel in Bulawayo, alongside several properties.
Sources close to the late businesswoman said initially the mourners together with the hearse carrying the body were turned away from the rural home in Sogwala last Wednesday, as family members did not agree on how her property was to be distributed.
A source close to the Ngwenya family said the burial of the late businesswoman was eventually carried out five days after she died, despite the Covid-19 protocols that demand that burials of Covid-19 victims take place within 48 hours. The delay was caused by the impasse within the family, as the body had to return to Bulawayo before being transported back to the rural home again, sources said.
“In relation to what transpired before her burial we would like to keep it private as it is a private family matter,” added the source.
Ms Ngwenya is survived by two children and at the time of her death, she was living as a couple with a city businessman, who worked with the family to bury the deceased. Her union with the businessman had reportedly spanned over several years with the couple living together.
“Looking at how long they lived together, the businessman has the law on his side, no matter what was happening before the burial,” a source said.
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