The Khuzwayo family from J section in Umlazi, south of Durban, is traumatized. This is because the exhumation of an unknown person they buried in August is dragging on.
Family member Nono Khuzwayo told the publication they realized in September that they buried the wrong person instead of their loved one, Khanyisani (38).
Khanyisani died in a car accident near Westville Prison on 14 August.
Nono said when they went to identify his body at a government mortuary in Pinetown on 16 August, the investigating officer told them they won’t be allowed to view the body as it was minced.
“We were asked if Khanyisani owned red trousers, which were picked up from the body bag and we said yes, knowing he did have red trousers. That is how the body was identified as Khanyisani,” said Nono.
Nono said a month after the burial, they found his red trousers at home while they were sorting out his clothes. They then realized that Khanyisani was not wearing the red trousers on the day of the accident.
She said this made them believe that the body they identified as Khanyisani could have been someone else.
“We reported the matter to the investigating officer who went to the mortuary to investigate and found a body marked as unknown. This body arrived at the mortuary on 14 August. We were called to view it and we found it was Khanyisani. So indeed, we buried the wrong person,” she said
“They mixed up the bodies. We don’t know what is causing the process to drag on. They are supposed to dig up the body of this unknown person and give us Khanyisani’s body so his spirit can rest in peace,” she said.
KZN police spokesman Colonel Thembeka Mbele said they were aware of the Khuzwayos’ complaint.
“We urge them to be patient because the matter is a sensitive one.”
– Daily Sun