As the country grapples with the burning issue of missing people, it has now emerged that more than 2 000 bodies remain unclaimed in government mortuaries throughout the country, with KwaZulu-Natal having the highest number.
Figures released by the Department of Health during a parliamentary hearing in April support this. There were 1 336 unclaimed bodies in KwaZulu-Natal, 266 in North West, 28 in Limpopo, 51 in Northern Cape, and 82 in each of Mpumalanga and Free State.
When a body is received at a government mortuary, the authorities take a photo of the dead person, record a set of fingerprints and also draw blood samples. This is then archived.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said: “To trace the families, we use contact details provided on admission. Unfortunately, some patients use incorrect telephone numbers and addresses, which causes problems when tracing. Some patients are admitted as unknowns, so there are no contact details provided.”
Modiba revealed there were 10 unclaimed bodies in the mortuary of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, the world’s third biggest hospital, located in Soweto.
“The time between death and pauper burial takes about two months. If a body is not collected within a week following death and there has been no communication with family, the hospital then begins a tracing process, which involves, among others, calling next of kin using details on the admission card, visiting the address on the admission card, fingerprints tracing and publishing in social and mainstream media. “If no one comes forward to claim a body, the hospital then conducts a pauper’s burial.”
Meanwhile, Criminologist and national coordinator at Missing Children South Africa, Bianca van Aswegen, said there was a connection between the work that Missing Children South Africa does and the SAPS, and the Department of Health, however, there are no statistics of missing people.
“The last time there were statistics about missing people was in 2013. What we get now are quarterly figures that are not accurate because people in rural areas do not report missing family members.
“We do not know the dominant ages, race or gender. Whatever statistic is there now is not a general reflection of the reality,” she said.
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