Funeral Parlour Faces Backlash After Cremating the Wrong Body, Mzansi Doesn't Think It Was a Mistake

• A Johannesburg family are still reeling after the news that their loved one was cremated by mistake
• The funeral parlour admitted a mistake was made by the mortician, resulting in the wrong body being cremated
• South Africans believe that there's more to the story and think the family should sue the funeral parlour

GAUTENG - A Johannesburg family is still coming to terms with the fact that they won’t be able to bury a loved one after a mix-up at a funeral parlour.

The Thekiso family were left in disbelief when they were given the wrong body, but their shock and horror didn’t end there.

After discussions with the funeral parlour, they learned that their loved one had been cremated by accident.

Thekiso family details their traumatic experience

Speaking to SABC News, the family explained that they went to B3 Funeral Parlour on 29 November to collect their mother’s body but were given the wrong one.

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After raising the issue with the parlour and a lengthy discussion among staff, the funeral parlour admitted that they had accidentally cremated the body.

Parlour offer to pay for DNA test

Sibusiso Mkhwebane, the son of the deceased, said they had been offered the ashes but had no proof that it was those of his mother.

Frank Mamotsau, Executive Head of B3 Funeral Parlour, apologised for the issue and explained that their investigations revealed that the morticians mixed up the tags used to identify the bodies.

He stated that the ashes did indeed belong to the Thekiso family and said they could get a DNA test, which the parlour would pay for.

They also offered to compensate the family.

South African funeral homes have been at the centre of many crazy stories over the years. In March 2023, a Johannesburg family owed more than R100,000 for storing a pastor's body at a funeral home for more than two years.

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The family refused to bury Pastor Siva Moodley as they believed he would be resurrected.

On 4 September another funeral parlour made headlines after video surfaced of them serving alcohol at the gravesite.

Social media users fume after funeral parlour error

Citizens were also left in disbelief after the story broke, with many questioning what the parlour could possibly compensate the family with after such an error.

@MamG_911 said:

“I wonder how B3 is going to compensate this family. Are they going to un-cremate the deceased? The funeral parlour is not allowed to make any mistake.”

@Dr_Shiyaklenga stated:

“The family must claim 51% shares of the business.”

@Nelson_de_3rd added:

“So what must the family do with the ashes? They must sue them.”

@AfricanBlackAsa asked:

“Yoh, how is that even possible? What will be the compensation?”

@SibusisoThabede questioned:

“How will they compensate the family? Mould a new body? This is a mess up of unthinkable proportions.”

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Some people believed there was more to the story than what the parlour let on.

@sirboring_26 said:

“They definitely sold parts of the body and then cremated it to cover up their actions. They are pissed the family noticed and took it to the media. How do you mistakenly cremate a body for collection?”

@Brother_Enigma stated:

“I foresee foul play here. They definitely sold some of the body parts and cremated the rest of the body to cover up the missing parts.”

@mabsmabe said:

“This is very suspicious. Someone bought the body parts, and now they come up with excuses of cremating the body by mistake. These people are lying.”

@THABELOMUDAU5 stated:

“This must be investigated by the police. I suspect rituals here. There’s no way a parlour can cremate the wrong body.”

@lettymavuso57:

“It was not a mistake. They either took her body parts for ritual purposes or stole her organs. Cremating her remains was a cover-up.”

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Funeral parlour accidentally sends body to Ethiopia

In a related article, the Zibane family also experienced frustration with a funeral parlour when their loved one's body was mistakenly sent to Ethiopia.

Briefly News reported on 14 October that the family were left with so many questions after the parlour could not find the body of Sifiso Zibane.

His body was later traced to be on its way to Ethiopia, with Nigeria being the final destination, and Mzansi was sure it wasn't an accident.

Source: Briefly News