"He Left Me With Nothing": Pietermaritzburg Son Refuses to Bury ‘Dead Beat’ Father

• A Pietermaritzburg man has refused to collect his father’s body from a state mortuary, stating that he cannot bury a parent who abandoned him
• He claims his father never supported him, failed to help him secure an ID,leaving him unemployed, a stance backed by many social media users
• The case comes as the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health raises an alarm over overcrowded mortuaries and unclaimed bodies

KWAZULU-NATAL- A man from Pietermaritzburg has refused to collect his father’s body from a state mortuary, saying he cannot bury a man he describes as an absent parent.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika on 16 February 2026, the man said his father abandoned the family when he was young and never played a role in raising him.

The son details the father's abandonment

According to the son, attempts to reconnect in later years were met with hostility, culminating in the father obtaining a protection order against him and other family members.

Read also

Man in his 30s marked 363 days sober after life-changing decision

“A protection order means leave me alone.I even went to court to get clarity about it because, at the end of the day, one day this man would have to be buried by me,” he said.

He said he was deeply hurt when his father accused him of being abusive and of stealing money while applying for the protection order.

“That really hurt me. My father has never done anything for me. Instead, he helped raise another woman’s child and even helped him get a certificate to work as a security guard,” he said

He also claims his father never assisted him in securing an ID, leaving him without an identity document to this day.

“I can’t vote, go to a hospital or clinic properly, or do anything.I can’t work, and I survive by gardening and planting vegetables, ”he said.

He added that watching others benefit from his father’s support has been painful.

“That child he did everything for must bury him. Who is supposed to help me bury him? He left me with nothing, so how am I supposed to bury him?” he asked.

Read also

"This was a thoughtful gift": Man gets dumped over Valentine's Day present, SA in disbelief

Department of Health raises concerns over unclaimed bodies

The situation comes amid growing concerns from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health over overcrowding in state mortuaries. The department has urged members of the public to report missing loved ones to police and to identify and collect the bodies of deceased relatives.

In 2024, KwaZulu-Natal recorded approximately 1,500 unclaimed bodies in state mortuaries, among the highest figures in the country, raising alarm over the strain on facilities. Authorities have described the issue as a humanitarian and administrative crisis, with some families reportedly failing to retrieve even known relatives.

Social media weighed in

@latest_whats agreed:

"Lmfao, this is so valid. Death doesn’t absolve people of their shenanigans. We should treat them the same, even in death."

@Nocylove123 said:

"That protection order must bury him."

@_Rere_Baloyi stated:

"I’m here for the pettiness, love him."

@YN_Observes commented:

"Let those who enjoyed his support bury him. He was good to other people, not his son."

Read also

Family of e-hailing drive killed in viral robbery speaks up ahead of suspect's court appearance

@ZawadiMs wrote:

"Very smart and standing his ground, he must not let people manipulate him into guilt; the father knew this day would come."

Gauteng Health calls for the identification of unclaimed bodies

The Gauteng Health Department revealed that in 2023, more than 900 bodies lay unidentified or unclaimed in the province's mortuaries. Pretoria has the most unclaimed and unidentified remains, followed closely by Johannesburg and Germiston. The health department's forensic pathology services (FPS) said 938 remains that are unidentified and unclaimed in 11 mortuaries across Gauteng.

SA mortuaries have 3000 unclaimed bodies

In 2024, the Portfolio Committee on Health in Parliament heard on 18 September that government mortuaries have 3000 unclaimed bodies. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of corpses in the country, followed by the Eastern Cape. South Africans questioned the efforts the government made in finding the corpses' relatives to give them closure.

Read also

Paul O’Sullivan threatens to withdraw from Ad Hoc Committee proceedings, calls it a 'kangaroo court'

Previously, Briefly News reported that mortuaries in Phoenix, KZN, were overwhelmed by the rapid flow of bodies being admitted in July 2021. The bodies had allegedly been making their way in since the civil unrest started a little over a week ago, according to the National Funeral Practitioners Association. The Association stated that 300 bodies were not identified, but the Department of Health has dismissed this.

Source: Briefly News