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TUG-OF-WAR OVER WOMAN’S BODY

17/10/2023 08:50:00 Mbongiseni Ndzimandze

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MBABANE – A South African man has run to court after his in-laws covertly took the body of his late wife, who is a liSwati, into the kingdom for interment.

Doctor Magidi Mpapane has since obtained orders interdicting Dups Funeral Home and Undertakers from releasing the corpse to his in-laws, stopping the burial of his wife by her in-laws and that the body should be released to him. The wife, Winile, is reported to have died on October 7, 2023 at Barberton Hospital in the Republic of South Africa. The order by the court comes after Mpapane filed an urgent application at the High Court. In his application, the applicant (Mpapane) argued that his in-laws allegedly removed the body of his wife from Barberton Hospital surreptitiously, without his knowledge and consent as the surviving spouse.

Children

The applicant brought it to the attention of the court that even their children were not aware on the whereabouts of their deceased mother. He contended that in terms of the law, the primary duty to bury a deceased spouse lay with the surviving partner. The applicant (Mpapane) argued that the matter was urgent as the body of her late wife might be buried any time. Respondents in the matter are Gugu Dlamini, Phinda Dlamini, Phila Dlamini, Sicelo Dlamini, Obed Dlamini, Sophie Dlamini and Dups Funeral Home and Undertakers. In his founding affidavit, Mpapane submitted that he married Winile in community of property on October 24, 1997 and same still subsists. He stated that with Winile, they established their marital home at Malelane in the Nkomazi Municipality, in Mpumalanga Province.

According to the applicant, this was known by his in-laws. The applicant highlighted to the court that they had two children and one of them was currently attending school in Nelspruit.
It was his averment that the minors were not consulted before the body of their late mother was taken to Eswatini. “The deceased and I had some marriage challenges and we have not been living together for a limited duration. However, the deceased and I were always in constant contact as we have two children. Inasmuch as we had challenges in our marriage, this did not affect our relationship,” alleged Mpapane. He submitted that they were not enemies with his late wife. According to the applicant, most of his late wife’s clothes were still at their matrimonial home. He alleged that at the time of her demise, the deceased still had keys to their matrimonial home and would come and go as she pleased.

Sentimental

Mpapane alleged that the marital home was also of sentimental value to his late wife and she had frequently expressed to him that she wished to be buried in the Republic of South Africa, close to it. “Up until her death, the deceased was my wife and I was responsible to her as a husband apart that we did not sleep on the same bed. I also ate her food when she visited the marital home,” alleged the applicant. He narrated to the court that on October 11, 2023, he heard from a relative that his wife had passed away. Mpapane said he informed his family and waited with the hope that his in-laws would include him and his family to prepare and arrange the burial of the deceased. He claimed that his in-laws did not involve him and his family.
“Upon further investigation, I have further learnt that the deceased died on October 7, 2023 at Barberton Hospital and her body was surreptitiously taken without consulting me, the minor children or my family,” alleged the deponent.

He submitted that the alleged unorthodox removal of his wife’s body from South Africa was, therefore, done under stealth. He said he was uncertain how the respondents managed to remove the body of the deceased, who was married in South Africa, to Eswatini. He said he had been advised that in such situations, the consent of the surviving spouse was needed but none was sought from him. “I have now established that the respondents approached the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa and under questionable circumstances, obtained a death certificate without my assistance. This is despite that in terms of the civil registry in South Africa, I am still the one who ought to have obtained the death certificate,” he argued.
Mpapane said he was not certain how the respondents managed to obtain the death certificate without his assistance or consent. The matter is pending before Judge Nkosinathi Maseko and the respondents are expected to show cause why the order should not be made final. The applicants are represented by Jasmine Dlamini of Robinson Bertram.