A Mitchells Plain woman was furious after she discovered that she buried the wrong person at her husband’s funeral.
Dad of four Thamsanqa Patrick Mhlauli, 54, died of a Covid-related illness on 15 July and was set to be laid to rest on Friday.
But his widow Patiswa Mhlauli, 52, says after the service, funeral parlour AVBOB called to say his body was still at the morgue.
“It was agreed with the AVBOB staff that I will be allowed to view his body on the day of the funeral just to make sure we have the correct person in the coffin,” says Patiswa.
“But on Friday morning when we requested to see my husband in the coffin, the undertaker refused to open the coffin, he didn’t say why, and we then continued the service trusting that Thami was inside.
“The service was held at home and then we went to the graveyard at Glory Memorial in Ottery.”
But the funeral director says he offered to open the coffin so the family could see their loved one.
He says the deceased was wrapped in a see through plastic liner in accordance with Covid 19 regulations.
The man says an elderly woman said it wasn’t necessary for him to open the coffin, they just had to speak to the deceased.
She said his grave was paved inside and they also covered it with a tombstone.
Patiswa says she was left shocked and upset when she got a call from AVBOB manager Jacques Snyman around 3pm on Friday to say they had buried the wrong person.
“The manager called and told me that they made a mistake and that we buried a stranger instead of my husband,” Patiswa says.
Thami was finally laid to rest yesterday and his widow says: “We held his funeral ceremony for the third time, how humiliating, because on Friday AVBOB told me we buried the wrong person.
“They eventually brought my husband in his coffin to the house after 6pm for us to have his funeral which we did, because I wanted him to be buried on the same day.
“When we got to the gravesite which they (AVBOB) organised as a replacement, the hole was too small and shallow, that was a grave for a dog.
“I then cancelled everything and sent his body back to the funeral home to have the proper funeral on Monday (26 July).”
She says she doesn’t know who the man is that they buried and he is still in her husband’s grave.
AVBOB’s Marketing Manager Marius du Plessis confirmed the mix-up: “Despite the pressure that our personnel has been working under as a result of the increased number of deaths due to the pandemic, these kinds of mistakes are rare and have never happened before at this facility.
“This was an unfortunate incident where human error led to the delivery of the wrong body for burial.
“We understand the family’s disappointment and we regret the fact that our service didn’t meet their expectations.
“We would again like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and we will do whatever we can to resolve the matter and assist the family in getting closure.”