Delays by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in tracing next of kin is one of the reasons for the 1 197 unclaimed bodies at KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) five largest medico-legal mortuaries – with the oldest remains dating back to 2017.
This was revealed by Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu: MEC for KZN Health in a parliamentary reply to questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The finding comes after it was revealed in September that there were 3 186 unclaimed bodies across the country, with KZN accounting for 1 527 bodies.
In her reply, the MEC states that KZN’s Department of Health (DoH) has concluded its requirements in respect of the bodies – including post-mortems, sample collections and other identifying criteria – but that the hold-up lies with the SAPS.
According to the MEC, the SAPS’ failure to issue pauper statements is behind the backlog in burials. The situation is allegedly exacerbated by having to wait for SAPS to finalise other processes, including tracing next of kin and the provision of DNA kits, all of which must take place before the investigating officer will provide a pauper statement.
Simelane further claims that the backlog figures are exacerbated by inadequate municipal budgets to conduct pauper burials and a lack of suitable space within some municipalities.
She also indicates that a few municipalities do not have contracted funeral undertakers to perform pauper burials which results in human remains not being buried. Regardless of these challenges, municipalities have a duty to allocate budgets to pauper burials.
“The reality is that KZN is turning to an above-ground graveyard,” said Dr Imran Keeka, MPL – DA KZN Spokesperson on Health.
The DA said it has escalated this matter to the National Police Committee, drawing attention to the need for personnel, funding and due process to allow for completion of all SAPS-related responsibilities. The DA has also written to the committee chairperson to seek intervention at that level.
“For too long grieving families have been denied closure and the deceased deprived of the dignity and respect they deserve. The DA calls on SAPS to finalize processes as a matter of extreme urgency so that municipalities can proceed to bury the deceased. The affected families must find closure while there must be dignity for the deceased.
“The DA will leverage its position as part of the Government of Provincial Unity and National Unity to ensure that SAPS are held accountable, and that this injustice is corrected,” Keeka concluded.
