Hospital to bury Botswana deportee Khumalo

WORKERS at Plumtree District Hospital have decided to bury Alfred Khumalo, the elderly man deported from Botswana, who died after having stayed at the hospital for more than a year as efforts to locate his relatives failed.

Ninety-seven year-old Khumalo's body has been in the hospital mortuary for the past month.

An official at the Plumtree District Hospital who preferred anonymity said they had travelled as far as Mbembesi area in search of his relatives.

"We had representatives from the hospital going to Mbembesi area where the late Khumalo was reported to have originated from hoping to locate his relatives. The search was not fruitful.

"They moved through a number of villages and the community members seemed not to know him," said the official.

He said the hospital eventually concluded no relatives would pitch up because of the time that had elapsed since Khumalo was deported.

"It has been a year since Khumalo's issue was reported. His case got a lot of exposure through the media and we hoped that somehow the exposure would alert his relatives.

"It appears no one will come to claim the old man's body. As a result he will end up getting buried by hospital staff as we believe he deserves a proper burial. We believe that we have given his relatives ample time to take appropriate action," said the official.

The hospital officials recently appealed to members of the public who knew Khumalo to approach them so that he can have a proper burial.

Plumtree District Medical Officer Dr Langalokusa Sibanda confirmed that Khumalo's body was still at the hospital's mortuary.

After his deportation in August last year Khumalo was referred to the hospital where he stayed until his death.

Throughout his stay, the hospital staff battled to keep his sugar levels low and blood pressure normal as he was being housed in an improper environment. He succumbed to high blood pressure after reports that several old people's homes had rejected him.

Despite recommendations to take Khumalo to a proper welfare centre, the Department of Social Welfare failed to assist him.

At one point Khumalo was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospital for nursing but the hospital also rejected him indicating he needed extra care and they referred him back to Plumtree.

Efforts to put him at Ekuphumuleni Old People's Home in Bulawayo also flopped after officials at the institution requested a $50 fee per month for his upkeep but the government indicated it could only provide $15.

Khumalo was born in 1917 in Mbembesi area in Bubi District and on his deportation he said he did not know anyone in the country and indicated that he preferred going back to Botswana.

With no confirmed family in Botswana and no residence, officers decided to take Khumalo to the hospital where authorities were supposed to assist him to reach his home village.

His deportation sparked a diplomatic storm after reports that the old man was ill-treated by the neighbouring country's officials.

According to media reports, there was drama at Selebi-Phikwe government hospital when immigration officials dragged Khumalo from his hospital bed where he was recovering from a stroke for deportation.

Khumalo is believed to have been born to a missionary father and his mother is believed to be originally from Kwa-Zulu Natal Province in South Africa.