Bid to bury businessman in Kuruman
Deceased multi-millionaire businessman Wandile Bozwana’s family wants to exhume his remains and rebury him in his hometown in the Northern Cape.
The family, led by Bozwana’s brother Benedict, has applied for an exhumation licence at the Department of Health, to exhume the late businessman’s body, which is buried at Mooikloof Heights Cemetery in Pretoria, and bury him next to his father and other family members at Mothibistad Cemetery in Kuruman.
But the decision has caused another rift between Bozwana’s family and his widow Tsholofelo, who is against the exhumation.
An application by the Bozwana family, dated May 26 2020, shows she refused to grant them permission to exhume the body after they approached her.
Bozwana’s brother said his family and Tsholofelo’s family met three times to discuss the family’s request, but each time her family rejected the request, leaving them with no choice but to consider other options.
He said Tsholofelo told his family that she was the only one who was entrusted with the decision about where to bury Bozwana. Explaining the reasons behind the family’s decision to exhume the body, Benedict said the family felt that it was too expensive for them to travel to Pretoria every time they needed to visit his grave, especially for their mother, who was fond of Bozwana.
“The way he is buried in Pretoria, it’s like he is lost and without family. We have our own cemetery and according to culture, he must be buried there with his father and other family members,” said Benedict.
He said it was always the family’s wish for Bozwana to be buried in Kuruman, but said they had to park the idea during his funeral to avoid drama after the wife refused to listen to them.
Benedict also took a jibe at his sister-in-law, accusing her of failing to involve her late husband’s family when she erected and unveiled the businessman’s tombstone. Another of Bozwana’s brothers, Mlungiseni, also confirmed the decision to exhume the body.
“We just saw on TV that there was now a tombstone. Only Tsholofelo’s friends and family were invited,” said Benedict.
Bozwana was shot on the N1 Garsfontein off-ramp in October 2015. He later died in hospital.
Tsholofelo had not responded to our questions at the time of going to press.
