Umlazi family's funeral shock: Body sent to Nigeria
A Durban family’s grief deepened as their loved one’s body was mistakenly sent to Nigeria.
Losing a loved one is devastating, but for the Zibane family from Umlazi, the heartbreak turned into an unimaginable ordeal when their loved one’s body went missing - only to be found en route to Nigeria.
Sifiso Zibane tragically passed away in a car accident earlier in October. His family, already dealing with the shock of his death, was preparing to lay him to rest over the weekend, reports eNCA.
However, their world was turned upside down when they arrived at the funeral home to wash and dress his body for the ceremony, only to be met by another body.
What followed was a wave of confusion and panic as the family demanded answers from the funeral parlour. After a stressful wait, it was revealed that Sifiso’s body had been mistakenly placed on a flight bound for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with its final destination being Nigeria.
“The body that they gave to us, my uncle saw it and saw that this body does not belong to us. So where’s our body? They started giving us a runaround, telling us that the body was in Johannesburg. Only to find out that this body is not even here in South Africa anymore,” Kwanele Zibane, Sifiso’s niece, told the publication.The Zibane family was thrust into a desperate battle to recover the body. Calls to the airline were fruitless and in distress, they contacted the South African Police Service (SAPS) to assist in locating the body.
To make matters worse, they had to coordinate with officials in Ethiopia to halt the transfer and secure the body’s return.
Thankfully, after numerous calls, meetings, and a great deal of emotional distress, the body was returned to Durban. The family rescheduled the funeral, but the traumatic experience left lasting scars.
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