A family in Kalkfontein near Ghanzi has had to exhume a body for reburial over the weekend following a case of mistaken identity of the corpse at the mortuary.
The family had buried the wrong corpse last Friday and were only notified of the mix-up at the mortuary the following day.
Kalkfontein Police Station Commander, Superintendent Tizhani Kobole, confirmed the incident noting that the deceased, 71-year-old Segojame Hendrick, from Gamoselebe ward who died on August 3rd, 2020, was taken to Joyce Mortuary in Ghanzi where she was later taken for burial at Kalkfontein by the wrong family.
Hendrick’s corpse was mistaken for an 88-year-old man, Marakus Xlare of Gathaga ward also in Kalkfontein village.
“The man’s relatives sent others to collect his corpse from the mortuary but they did not thoroughly check if it was the right one as they mistakenly took the woman’s corpse and buried it on Friday, August 14th, 2020,” explained Kobole.
Later on when Hendrick’s family went to the mortuary on August 19th,2020 (last week Wednesday) with the intention to collect her for burial which was supposed to be the following day, Thursday, that was when they noticed it was the wrong corpse and the only one in the mortuary.
“They suspected the corpses were exchanged and went to Ghanzi police to report the matter. The police advised them to seek assistance from the District Commissioner for permission for the exhumation and the arrangements were made that the woman’s body is exhumed,” said Superintendent Kobole.
Both the families for Hendrick and Xlare together with the Chief, District Commissioner, the Station Commander, and the police forensic laboratory officials were present to make sure that exhumation was done properly and thereafter Hedrick’s family identified their corpse.
Both corpses were laid to rest at Kalkfontein cemetery yesterday (Sunday), the same day after exhumation.
