Over 1,000 bodies unclaimed in Gauteng mortuaries

Questions about the progress of a much-anticipated website to assist with identifying anonymous dead bodies remain unanswered.

The Gauteng Democratic Alliance pointed out yesterday that 1,117 out 17,940 bodies remained unidentified in the province’s 10 forensic pathology mortuaries.

DA Gauteng’s shadow health MEC, Jack Bloom, issued a statement sharing this information, which was passed on to him by Gauteng MEC of health Bandile Masuku.

Bloom added that 18 bodies have been identified but remained unclaimed by the families.

“This is a vast human tragedy that deserves higher attention.

“The largest number of unidentified bodies was at the Johannesburg mortuary (360), followed by Germiston (115), Roodepoort (107), Diepkloof (106) and Springs (105).”

Bloom said the majority of the deaths were the result of violent and unexplained deaths and he suspected the majority of victims were either homeless, or foreign nationals without any documentation.

“It is tragic that many families do not know the fate of their loved ones because they have been buried anonymously after suffering a violent death.

“Some of the nine Life Esidimeni patients who are still missing may have suffered this fate.”

He said the plan to assist families, who have to go through the traumatic experience of searching through mortuaries, was to establish a website.

Former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu had promised that this internet site would be running by 2016.

Masuku’s response was that “the functionality of the internet site would be possible once the mortuary information system is set”, Bloom said, which is anticipated for the end of October.

The website is expected to be operational at the beginning of 2020-21 financial year.

“I hope that this promise is kept, so that bodies can be identified on the internet, rather than relatives going to each mortuary, which is traumatic and time consuming,” said Bloom.

Gauteng health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said she was unable to provide any comment over the weekend that would be in time for the Monday edition of The Citizen.

Comment from the South African Police Service (Saps) could also not be obtained.

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