Family buries wrong body

Identification boobs have seen a Harare funeral parlour releasing a corpse to the wrong people for burial.

The body of Tinashe Katena was buried in Epworth on Saturday when Kuwadzana Funeral Services released it into the wrong hands. The bereaved Katena family realised the blander on Sunday after they visited the parlour to collect the body of six weeks old Tinashe who had been given to the Mudzimu family for burial at Zinyengere Cemetery in Epworth.

The Katena family demanded that their relative be exhumed for reburial, a wish which was granted on Monday at around 3pm. What irked both families was the parlour's failure to give proper tags to the corpses, leading to them dispatching the wrong body.

The body os a six weeks old Tinashe Katena was buried by the wrong family in place of 12 weeks old Wayne Mudzimu after the Mudzimu family wrongly identified their body.

Katena family spokesperson Jackson Kanoyangwa said they will only allow the Mudzimu family to collect their body when the palour exhumes Tinashe's body.

"They are not going to dispatch the body until they exhume the corpse they claim belongs to us after they failed to locate our corpse. It is unbelievable to note that their undertakers dispatched the wrong body. To us that is very unprofessional and we believe it was caused by employing someone who is unable to read and write.

"The parlour did not let us know on time after they discovered the mistake and they asked us to come and collect the body. I hired cars to ferry mourners to the parlour only to be told that they are failing to locate the body, giving us unnecessary expenses," he said.

When reporters visited Kuwadzana Funeral Services on Monday, both families were by the palour processing documentation for exhumation of Tinashe's body.

The late Wayne's mother, Kelly Mugariwa (24) said her husband, Willard Mudzimu, failed to identify the body.

"My husband is the one who failed to identify the body after I was asked by one of our grandmothers to remain behind. The palour is to blame for this boob. Unfortunately those who accompanied my husband did not know the child. My son died at home on Friday and we took the body to Harare Central Hospital for post mortem and the documentation was delayed. I was shocked on Sunday when I received a call from the palour telling us that we have buried the wrong body," said Kelly.

Both families had no kind words for the palour as they waited for the processing of the exhumation papers after a report was made at Southerton Police Station.

Unconfirmed reports say Tinashe's body was finally reburied at Graneville Cemetery (KuMbudzi) yesterday and Wayne's body at Zinyengere Cemetery in Epworth.

Tinashe died at Budiriro Clinic on Saturday before the body was mistakenly buried the same day in Epworth.

Kuwadzana Funeral Services could not give their side of the story after efforts to get a comment from one of its top brass, identified as Mrs Mukanganise, were unsuccessful.

"Mrs Mukanganise is busy at the moment and she will come back to you later," said one of the staff members who was by the reception.