A distraught family in Pretoria is now fearing for the health of their elderly grandmother, whose heartache over her granddaughter’s unburied body has deepened due to a year-long delay caused by negligence at a state mortuary.
The Kubisi family, who only discovered in November 2023 that their sister Dudu had been killed in a pedestrian accident in June 2023, is desperate to lay her to rest and bring peace to their grieving grandmother.
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Martha Kubisi explained that another family had mistakenly buried Dudu, believing she was their loved one who had died in a hospital.
“The other family went to the mortuary shortly after the woman passed away and pointed to the body of my sister, claiming her as their loved one who had died in the hospital. This family then took the body of my sister and buried her.”
The error was uncovered when the hospital contacted the other family after the funeral, questioning why they had not yet claimed the body of their loved one.
It was then realised that Dudu had been mistakenly buried.
The Kubisi family was subsequently informed, and Dudu’s body was exhumed in July 2024, nearly a year after her death.
Despite the exhumation, the Kubisi family is still waiting to rebury Dudu as they await DNA test results.
Martha expressed frustration over the backlog and lack of answers.
“We were cheated out of the chance to bury her, and they could have done a better job. This is very concerning; how many families are given the wrong loved ones because they don’t do the identification process properly?”
The Gauteng Department of Health confirmed awareness of the allegations and ongoing investigations into the matter.
In response to inquiries, the department spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, explained that the body can only be handed over to the Kubisi family once DNA results are released.
They emphasised that the DNA process falls under the South African Police Service’s Forensic Science Laboratory (SAPS FSL), and the Kubisi family has been advised to contact SAPS for updates.
The department also acknowledged that the initial identification of the deceased was made through internal fingerprint analysis, revealing that the deceased had not been reported as a missing person.
Adding to the family’s distress, Martha shared that their elderly grandmother is struggling with the situation, fearing that her granddaughter’s unresolved burial will further impact her health.
“My grandmother is struggling; we believe that if we can bury my sister, it will give my grandmother peace,” Martha said.
The family has sought assistance from the Democratic Alliance (DA), with DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Health Madeleine Hicklin criticising the Gauteng Provincial Government for failing to implement necessary legislative reforms that could have prevented such incidents.
Hicklin noted that over R3 million was spent on the proposed Gauteng Funeral Undertakers Bill and Industry Reform regulations, which were never passed into law.
“The loss of loved ones is already a tragic event that should not be further worsened by government neglect and incompetency. A DA government would ensure that legislative reform be urgently implemented to prevent the mistaken identity of bodies through the appropriate regulation of both the funeral and undertaking industries as a priority,” Hicklin said.
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