Mortuaries bearing brunt of unrest, says funeral association
The National Funeral Practitioners Association says mortuaries are bearing the brunt of the unrest, with scores of bodies still unclaimed.
On Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu revealed that 128 of the bodies are at the Phoenix mortuary.
The association’s president Muzi Hlengwa says they are starting to feel the impact of last week's violence.
"We are indeed worried about the backlog. The capacity there is 500 and by saying they have reached the capacity doesn't mean that these are all recent bodies.
READ: Suppliers found guilty of unrest price gouging face R1m fines
"We all know that there are paupers and other bodies that were there. We all know that there is another backlog at the Home Affairs as well, because last week it was not easy to move."
He says families have three months to identify their loved ones before unclaimed bodies are given a pauper's funeral.
