Co-habiting man denied a burial order, stuck with lover's body

FOR three years, a Bulawayo man co-habited with his lover and the people she said were her relatives turned out to be mere friends following her death, putting on hold her burial for the past 10 days.

Earnest Ndlovu, 75, from Emakhandeni is now failing to bury the woman or locate her relatives as it turned out that she did not even have a National Identity (ID) card.

Ndlovu's girlfriend Anita Granger, 28, died on September 29.

A heartbroken Ndlovu, a security guard in the city told The Chronicle yesterday that he was denied a burial order at the Births and Deaths registry after failing to produce his girlfriend's identity card.

Ndlovu said he failed to locate Granger's relatives and was ordered to take the body back to the mortuary from a local funeral parlour where he had taken it to prepare for her burial.

"I've been staying with this woman for the past three years. She died on September 29 after battling cancer for some time. She told me that her mother strangled her little brother and dumped her when they were young," said Ndlovu, whose first wife died years ago.

"I met her at MaDlodlo bar in Makokoba, where she would help the workers doing dishes in return for food. She told me that she was looking for a man to take care of her. I took her to my house and I've been taking care of her for the past three years."

He said when Granger died at Mpilo Central Hospital, he transferred the body from the institution's mortuary to a local funeral parlour while he tried to sort out the papers for her burial.

"I went to the registry department to get the burial order but I was told I couldn't get it until I produced her identity card. I was ordered to take the body back to Mpilo. I don't know for how long they'll keep the body because she didn't have a birth certificate or an identity card. She didn't go to school and she never knew her parents and relatives. The people that she introduced me to as her relatives have told me that they weren't related," said a sobbing Ndlovu.

His relatives and neighbours have been gathered at his house for the past week for Granger's burial.

He said he discovered that Granger's "cousins", who stay in Thorngrove only wanted money and beer from him and were not her relatives after all.

He claimed that the Bulawayo provincial registrar Jane Peters told him that investigations to decide the way forward were underway.

Peters could not be reached for comment.

Ward 11 Councillor, Pilate Moyo said he received a report about Ndlovu's predicament and was trying to help him.

Ndlovu said he did not want his girlfriend to be buried like a pauper because he loved her and was willing to bury her decently.

"There's no way I can produce her identity documents because she didn't have. She never knew her parents and there's no way I can locate them. Every time I demanded to see her close relatives she would tell me she was a dumped child with no parents and relatives. I respect the registry's requirements but I hope they'll allow me to bury her. I would be devastated if they decide that she be buried by prisoners.

"She was known by my relatives and neighbours as my wife and we were known at the local SDA church as a couple and for her to be buried by other people would be an insult to me," said Ndlovu, who could not hold back his tears.

A worker at MaDlodlo bar, identified only as MaNcube said Ndlovu was Granger's only relative she knew.

"I met Granger a long time ago when she would come here to help us with our work in exchange for food. She met Ndlovu here and they decided to stay together. Ndlovu changed her life and took care of her until she died," said MaNcube.