Durban Family Endures Funeral Fiasco As Loved One’s Body Is Transported to Ethiopia by Mistake

Durban Family Endures Funeral Fiasco As Loved One’s Body Is Transported to Ethiopia by Mistake

  • The Zibane family were left looking for answers after a funeral parlour could not find their loved one's body
  • Sifiso Zibane's body was later traced to be on its way to Ethiopia, with Nigeria being the final destination
  • South Africans are convinced it is not a mistake and that the body was used to transport drugs out of the country
A Durban family were put through an ordeal after a funeral parlour lost the body of their loved one.
South Africans can't understand how a funeral parlour mistakenly sent the body of a Durban man to Ethiopia. Image: Sshepard/ Oliver Habarg.
Source: Getty Images

DURBAN – An Umlazi family’s ordeal following the death of a loved one has left South Africans in disbelief.

The Zibane family had their world turned upside down after finding out that a local funeral home had lost the body of their loved one.

Sifiso Zibane was killed in a car accident earlier in October and was due to be laid to rest over the past weekend.

When the family went to wash and dress his body ahead of the ceremonies, they found that the funeral parlour could not locate it.

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Body on its way to Nigeria

What followed was an extremely confusing and stressful period for the family as they waited for staff at the funeral parlour to trace the body.

It was then discovered that the body was on its way to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, with the final destination being Nigeria.

Family struggle to recover body

The Zibane family went through further trauma as they struggled to recover the body.

Calls were made in vain to the airline, and SAPS was eventually called in to try to assist with the situation.

The family also had to contact officials in Ethiopia for assistance. Thankfully, the body was finally returned, and after rescheduling a few things, the funeral was held.

South Africans dumbfounded by case

The incident caused quite a stir on social media, as citizens questioned how such a thing could happen. Others believed it wasn’t an error but a plan to smuggle drugs to Nigeria.

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Eugene Mailula asked:

“How's that even possible? What kind of an error is that? This is just a case of gross negligence.”

MA Aletta said:

“His body must be thoroughly checked to detect any traces of drugs. This stunt must have been used to traffic drugs.

Thy Happiness Glee Sehume added:

“I don't think it was a mistake; they were transporting something.”

Mpho Swandle said:

“They must properly check that man to see if his body parts are still in good condition.”

Welheminah Wiscots Nyirenda added:

“We are not stupid. They used the body to transport cargo. We watch movies. There's no mistake here.”

Funeral parlour causes stir online

Briefly News previously reported how a funeral parlour caused a stir online for serving alcohol at a gravesite.

The incident ignited a debate on social media, with many South Africans claiming that the practice was disrespectful.

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Other citizens saw nothing wrong with the decision and said that it was actually a method for people to cope with their grief.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Byron Pillay avatar

Byron Pillay (Editor) Byron Pillay is a Current Affairs Editor at Briefly News. He received a Diploma in Journalism from the Caxton Cadet School. He spent 11 years covering a wide variety of news as a community journalist, including politics, crime and current affairs. He also was a Head of Department for Sports Brief, where he covered both local and international sporting news. Email: byron.pillay@briefly.co.za