MBABANE – In the deep quiet of the country’s rural borderland, a transaction is made not in daylight, but under the cover of night.
This time, the cargo is not dagga, gold or stolen goats, but a pine coffin carrying a silent passenger – a liSwati on a final, secret journey back home. The carriers, men who have managed to bypass the country’s high rate of unemployment and against all odds, found a way of earning an income.
*Bandla, not a mourner but a transporter, for a fee of E1 000, is part of a shadowy network that specialises in smuggling corpses from South Africa (SA) back into Eswatini, bypassing the official border posts, where grief meets unaffordable bureaucracy. It is the border bureaucracy that Bandla and thousands of emaSwati bypass to ensure that loved ones are given some dignity, as they are taken to their final resting place.
This covert practice, repeated scores of times a year, highlights a painful clash between sacred cultural duty, profound poverty and stringent country regulations. For the emaSwati, the imperative of buried at one’s ancestral home – is non-negotiable. Yet, for families whose loved ones die while working or living in the neighbouring SA, fulfilling this duty often means choosing between debt and the law.
Noteworthy, not only is it illegal to transport a dead body, but bypassing border control could also mean importing dangerous infections, especially if the person died of an unknown illness.
In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic, transportation of corpses was banned such that people who died outside the country could not be taken to their home countries easily.
Speaking to Eswatini News, Bandla said the legal route could cost between over E10 000, as it involves many processes. He said one must acquire documentation from South African Police Service (SAPS), a permit from Home Affairs in that country and also a doctor’s certificate confirming the probable cause of death. This, according to Bandla is very expensive and inconvenient.
*Not real names
*…
… most smuggled in are zama zamas
MBABANE – Illegal miners who are emaSwati working in South Africa (SA) are often smuggled into the country when they die.
This is according to information uncovered by Eswatini News. According to some of the communities living along the borderline, particularly in northern Hhohho, zama zamas often work in SA without permits. This is because the Ministry of Home Affairs there does not issue work permits for illegal activities.
However, this is not to say that only deceased zama zamas are transported through.
According to *Sipho, a resident of one of the borderline communities, transportation of a corpse is very risk. He said other than contracting diseases, one also has to consider the possibility of attacks from criminals.
*Full article available on Pressreader*
An undated photo of a coffin being smuggled into the country near the Matsamo Border.