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Losing a loved one can be a devastating experience, moreso if the circumstances of the death are unclear. Seeking the cause of death and generally seeking answers after a relative’s demise is part of the mourning process and an attempt at finding closure.
In our previous edition we carried an article about a family seeking such answers, and closure. At a time that the Government has announced that mandatory post-mortems would be carried out to determine the cause of death in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was worrying that in the case of the Hwange family, they were not accorded such treatment.
The family accused the police and health workers of refusing to take their relative’s body for post-mortem after his sudden death at a neighbour’s home. The family still cannot stomach that decision since they suspected foul play. Family spokesman Jimmy Munkombwe said though the family suspected foul play, police declined to take the body for post-mortem.
“As a family we suspect foul play because he was well when he left his family and never complained of ill- health. He had left to smoke dagga with a neighbour after that he was found dead with a stub in the mouth. We reported the matter to the police but nothing was done,” said Munkombwe.
It would seem after initially resisting the advice of the police to bury their relative without a post-mortem, the family gave in after a Covid-19 Rapid Response Team allegedly failed to assist them.
What is worrying is that the family seems to not have received satisfactory answers regarding their family member’s death and they will struggle to find closure as they feel robbed of an opportunity to find out what probably led to the demise of their brother. It gets more complicated for the family now that after reluctantly burying the family member without an expected post-mortem, they were allegedly met with a demand for the report at the Hwange District Registry where they sought to get a death certificate for their departed relative.
We believe police and health officials owe the family an explanation over what happened following the death of their relative, and it is for the good of both teams to communicate effectively and meet the public’s expectations, especially where a party suspects foul play that can only be ruled out by a medical examination. The family is demanding answers. Not only that. It needs to acquire documents that will enable dependants to access his pension and other benefits.
Already, things are not looking good, judging by the response they got from the registry.
We believe such miscommunication can be avoided if authorities communicate clearly and do not only perform their tasks transparently, but are seen to be doing so by the public. In the court of public opinion, health workers and police’s verdict is sealed.
Bongani Ndlovu