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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
A HIGH Court judge has ruled that the remains of a Bulawayo man which had been stuck at a local funeral parlour since December last year should be cremated in accordance with his wish.
The ruling by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva follows an application by the deceased’s sister, Mrs Eva Zulu (nee Nkomo) and her siblings seeking a court order blocking the cremation of their brother’s remains.
Mr Amos Nkomo died on December 31 last year and his body has been stuck at Farley Funeral Services parlour in Bulawayo due to family squabbles, which ended up spilling into the courts.
His surviving spouse, Mrs Margaret Nkomo and her daughter Melisa, both of Newton West suburb, wanted the remains of the deceased to be cremated while other family members led by Mrs Zulu were opposed to cremation, arguing that the practice was foreign to their culture.
In papers before the court, Mrs Zulu, through her lawyers Coghlan and Welsh Legal Practitioners, cited Mrs Nkomo and Farley Funeral Services, as respondents.
In dismissing the application, Justice Takuva ruled that there was evidence that Mr Nkomo communicated with his wife and their children indicating that he wished to be cremated upon his death.
“In casu, since I have already found that the deceased’s wish was proved on cogent evidence to have been communicated to the first respondent (Mrs Nkomo) and her children, the former must be allowed to have the remains of her husband cremated. In totality of the circumstances, the second respondent (Farley Funeral Services) be and hereby directed to proceed with the cremation of the late Amos Nkomo,” ruled the judge.
Justice Takuva ordered Mrs Zulu to pay all the accumulated mortuary costs up to the date of cremation, including the legal costs incurred by the Mr Nkomo’s widow.
In her application, Mrs Zulu sought a court order interdicting the respondents from cremating her brother’s remains pending the finalisation of the matter.
In her founding affidavit, she said the broader family was opposed to the cremation of Mr Nkomo’s remains, arguing that was against their cultural beliefs.
“I am a blood sister of the late Amos Nkomo who died intestate at Bulawayo on December 31, 2018. I have locus standi and a clear right to approach this Honourable Court on behalf of our broader family as we are equally grieving the death of our brother. The first and second respondents (Mrs Nkomo and Melisa) intend to cremate the deceased, an act we as a family consider wrong and alien to our cultural beliefs,” she said.
Mrs Nkomo, through her lawyer Advocate Perpetua Dube who was instructed by the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, opposed the application, arguing that her husband had expressed his wish to be cremated.
“The deceased was diagnosed with cancer and he was hospitalised during that time, the applicants, who are his siblings, did not bother to visit him. As regards to his wish, he communicated to me and children that he wanted to be cremated upon his death,” she said.
“My husband and his siblings never observed any cultural practices or traditions. In fact, their family did not place much value on basic cultural values relating to deaths and burials.”
Since the death of Mr Nkomo, the family had been locked in a protracted dispute for burial rights resulting in accumulation of mortuary storage fees with efforts to reach a compromise having failed to yield positive results. — @mashnets
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