Following a request by the Muslim Judicial Council, the department has reiterated that autopsies of Muslim bodies will be prioritised despite a massive backlog at city morgues, due to spike in murders.
The MJC had called for an urgent meeting with the department following complaints by families that they were unable to bury their loved ones within the customary 24-hour period.
Some families waited for a week before bodies of loved ones were released.
Speaking during a press conference yesterday, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said the department has always prioritised autopsies of Muslim bodies in recognition of Islamic Law, and this would not change.
This after other officials said bodies would now be released on a first come first serve basis, and even if Muslim bodies were prioritised, the waiting period would still be at least 6-7 days.
Mbombo highlighted the large number of murders in Marikana and Ocean View and how this impacted state mortuaries.
“Recently, 18 people were killed in the Marikana area in Philippi East in a period of just one week. Reports show that in Ocean View 20 people were killed due to shootings since the month of April while five were killed in September in just a period of two weeks. By June, 22 females and children have been killed and as recently as Monday, six people were killed by fire in Philippi east,” said Mbombo.
VICTIM: Aqeel Davids, 9, of Ocean View was shot in head
“These are all unnatural deaths that require autopsies to be performed to support the judicial system with medico-legal evidence. Given these statistics, it is therefore important to note that one of the reasons we are having the current challenge is due to gang violence, interpersonal violence and many other factors in our society.”
One of those victims was nine-year old Aqeel Davids of Ocean View, who was shot in the head while sitting in his front room last month.
Two other relatives and an unknown man were wounded.
The MJC chairman of the Muslim Cemetery Board, Sheikh Riad Fataar, on Tuesday urged authorities to find alternative solutions to the backlog, like properly resourcing state mortuaries.
Mbombo indicated that she would be requesting additional funding from the provincial cabinet to address the issue.
The department and the MJC will be meeting on a monthly basis to discuss the progress.