Mandeni man declared dead by Home Affairs still very much alive

A Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, man is trying to pick up the pieces of his life after his family allegedly pronounced him dead to claim his insurance policies, North Coast Courier reports.

Andile Mzolo, 29, told the North Coast Courier that according to Home Affairs in Stanger, he has been dead for more than a year.

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“I was addicted to drugs and decided to admit myself into a rehab centre in Durban last year May. I lost my ID and needed it to admit myself. I went to Home Affairs, only to discover that I had been declared dead by my family.

“When I got out of rehab at the beginning of this year, it became a mission to go on with my life or even find a job because of my status.

“I had funeral and life insurance policies, which have since been claimed.

“Over and above that, some of my family have been threatening that if I report the case to the police they will kill me. Just two weeks ago, I was badly beaten up in Mandeni, and I left the area, and went to Umhlali SAPS for help.”

Umhlali SAPS spokesperson captain Vinny Pillay confirmed Mzolo had been beaten up and was frightened for his life.

He was given shelter at the trauma centre before he was taken to a place of safety last week.

A case of fraud has been opened, and the docket was transferred to KwaDukuza SAPS for investigation.

A source from Home Affairs in Stanger, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed Mzolo had been declared dead.

He said the notice of death had been stamped by a Dr Zipho Sibiya, who practises in Mandeni, and the funeral parlour involved was Thembinkosi Funeral Services.

The Courier is in possession of copies of these documents, which state that Mzolo died from respiratory failure caused by drug abuse.

However, Dr Sibiya, who admitted to signing off the documents, claimed he had been tricked by members of the Mzolo family who took another man’s body to his practice, claiming it was their relative and that he had been dead for about a week.

“I have known Andile since he was two years old, and I had treated him until he was about 17. He then disappeared, and I had not seen him since.

“One evening last year, his younger and older brother brought a body to my practice telling me it was Andile. His brothers own a funeral parlour, and said they needed these documents to bury him.

“The dead man looked as though he had been sick for months, and he was more or less the same build as Andile. I declared him as dead, but I realise now that I was tricked.”

Attempts to contact the number on the death notice for Thembinkosi Funeral Service have been unsuccessful.

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