Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, [email protected]
THE family of the Lesotho national who was mistakenly buried in Mantaka Village Two in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South province last month, has appealed to the Zimbabwean Government to help them exhume their relative’s body. They want the body to be repatriated to Lesotho.
After a story was published by the Chronicle on Monday, a newspaper in Lesotho picked up the story, leading the family to contact the Chronicle to appeal for help. The incident occurred last month and the matter only came to light days after the burial had been conducted at the Cross Roads area under Chief Bango.
The Ndebele family thought they had buried their son, Bambanani, who died after being pummelled with a knobkerrie during a fight in South Africa. When the family collected the body, there was a swap of tags at the morgue and those who went to identify the body failed to notice the anomaly. It was the Lesotho family that realised the mistake but by then, their relative had already been buried in Zimbabwe.
An uncle of the deceased Lesotho national buried in Zimbabwe Kahlolo Clement Mosia (26), Motlelepula Mosia, said the family has been left distressed by the events. He said the deceased was not married and had no children.
“Our son was shot dead in South Africa on August 9. We took the body to a funeral parlour while processing the papers for burial, which was set for August 31. The funeral parlour we engaged shares the mortuary with the funeral parlour that served the Ndebele family. The bodies mix up happened in the mortuary,” he said.
Mosia said they discovered the mistake two days before the burial day as they could not find their son’s body at the morgue.
He said they later learnt that their son’s body had mistakenly been taken to Zimbabwe and was already buried.
“We had already prepared the grave and slaughtered a beast for the funeral. When we learnt about the mistake, we sent a delegation of elders to South Africa to get an explanation of what really happened. The delegation met officials from the two funeral parlours and they apologised for the mix-up. They said they would work to correct the anomaly. Our challenge is that it is taking long hence our special appeal to the Zimbabwean Government to help us,” said Mosia.
He said the family suffered a double tragedy, losing their son and not being able to perform the last rites for him.
Sibling to the late Kahlolo, Ms Rejina Mosia, said she was failing to cope with her school work as Kahlolo was her only brother.
“We are not all coping as a family. Imagine we lost him after he was gunned down and when we were preparing to bury him we hear his body is a thousand kilometres away. This is very painful. I just want his remains brought home for burial. I kindly request the Zimbabwe Government to help us,” she said.
Rejina said her family is from Maseru district.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Ambassador Raphael Tayerera Faranisi, said several documents are needed for the exhumation process to begin.
“The first thing that the Mosia family has to do is to approach our Consulate in South Africa and they will be assisted with the paperwork needed for that process to start. Once they have made an application, they will be told of the process to be followed and the costs involved. The Mosia family will also need to get a permit to export the remains,” he said.
Ambassador Faranisi said in Zimbabwe the Mosia family should first report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where officials will assist them.
He said the actual exhumation is done by the Department of National Museums and Monuments with the involvement of the Ministry of Health and Child Care as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“There is no time frame at law as to when the exhumation can be done after burial. All that is needed are the required papers. Once that is done, then the process can start,” he said.
Ambassador Faranisi said the family could also approach their Foreign Affairs Ministry to assist.
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