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Eleven bodies that were buried in Boikhutsong Township, North West, will be exhumed on Thursday.
The Department of Health in the province said it obtained the order from the Ditsobotla Magistrate’s Court to locate the remains of a male patient who disappeared at Thusong Hospital years ago.
The remains in question are said to have been buried with some personal items which could assist in the identification process.
“The family and the department recently approached the court to grant an order for the exhumation of the remains of a body suspected to be that of the missing patient.
“DNA tests conducted on the remains of a body found at the hospital at the time proved inconclusive. However, following a lengthy investigation, it is now suspected that the remains of the missing patient could be in one of the 11 graves,” said the department’s spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane.
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Earlier in May, a family in Pietermaritzburg was prevented from burying their son, who died almost two months before, due to outstanding DNA results.
Mboniseni Shazi (36) was found in a shallow grave near the uMsunduzi River in April, after allegedly being beaten to death. The family, however, said the body was unrecognisable and they had to obtain DNA tests to identify their relative.
A backlog of DNA cases meant that the testing would be delayed. As a result, the family may only get to bury Shazi in June.
“This has affected us badly. Some of us are even having nightmares about [Shazi]. There is nothing that we can do as we were told that the list is long and all we can do is wait patiently,” said a relative, who asked to remain unnamed.
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