KZN man discovers his baby’s funeral was for a doll

Updated Aug. 11, 2025, 9:27 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast / Skyye Ndlovu

A grieving KwaZulu-Natal father discovered the “baby” he was burying was actually a doll.

Some breakups are messy. Some are painful. Then there’s this.

It’s the kind of plot twist even Generations wouldn’t dare air because viewers would call it “too unrealistic.”

In Machibini, Mandeni, 44-year-old Nkululeko Zulu thought he was living every man’s dream as he was about to become a dad.

For months, his girlfriend, Diyana Malukeke, of two years, also 44, allegedly convinced him she was pregnant.

However, there were no ultrasound pics, no baby scans, no cravings for chalk or petrol. Yet still, he believed her.

Fast forward nine months, and tragedy strikes. Malukeke tells him the baby didn’t make it.

Absolutely heartbroken, Zulu did what any grieving father would: he prepared for the funeral.

He dug a grave next to his family plots, slaughtered a goat, and probably bought enough food to feed half of KwaZulu-Natal.

On the morning of the funeral, Malukeke arrived in a van with a coffin but refused to open it.

That’s when Zulu’s brother decided, “Nope, we’re opening this thing.”

Inside? Not a baby. Not even ashes. A doll.

Yes. A literal doll.

Zulu’s world was shattered. Months of financial support, emotional investment, and a goat gone.

The community is in shock, with many jaws still somewhere on the floor.

As for Zulu? He’s left with a broken heart, an empty grave, and the most bizarre “you won’t believe this” story in Mandeni history.

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