Shock at funeral: Body viewing cancelled as corpse bleeds

MOURNERS at a funeral gathering in Emncwazini Village in Figtree, about 40 kilometres south east of Bulawayo had the shock of their lives when body viewing was cancelled amid claims that the corpse was bleeding.

The burial of Ncenga Ndlovu reportedly left tongues wagging as people came up with different theories on what happened on the burial day.

A reliable source from the village said they were told that there was no body viewing due to some circumstances beyond control.

"Surprisingly even family members did not view the body. The matter was kept a secret, but some people close to the family then got word that the corpse was bleeding," said the source.

It is reported that even mourners who attended the burial were ordered to control themselves and not weep too much.

"We do not understand the way things were handled at that funeral. It ended up happening as if the old woman had committed suicide. People are usually ordered not to cry at a funeral of a suicide victim and even the barring of body viewing left a lot of questions," said the source.

One of the deceased's sons, Ephraim Ndlovu, could neither confirm nor deny the reports.

"There is no story there. Whoever told you must be on a mission, why is she bothered that we did not have body viewing? I think she wanted to bewitch us.

"Anyway, whatever we did at the funeral, it was my mother's wish. As a family we agreed to handle things the way we did. And my mother was very old (92) and she had been ill for a long time, that is the reason people were encouraged to control themselves," he said.

He revealed that when an elderly person dies, his or her life is also celebrated because she would have lived a long and full life.