‘At last! We can bury our loved one!’ thought the Majola family when the City of Ekurhuleni granted them a pauper’s funeral for their relative, Bafana Majola.
But weeks have gone by, and there is still no date for the funeral.
The family is worried that his body may have been lost by the undertaker or buried by mistake.
Bafana, who is believed to have been born in 1975, passed away on 20 June at Pholosong Hospital in Tsakani. His body was moved from the government mortuary to a private funeral service.
However, the family could only raise R3,500 through community donations and could not afford the R10,500 to pay the private undertaker.
Bafana’s aunt Emma Majola told Scrolla.Africa that the ward councillor advised them to apply for a pauper’s funeral.
The family used the community donations to cover the cost of moving Bafana’s body from the hospital and for storage.
After their application was approved, Bafana’s body was transferred to Phumlani Funeral Services, the undertaker contracted by the metro for pauper’s funerals.
“We know we are poor, and he didn’t have a funeral policy, but he still deserves a proper burial,” said Emma.
“All the paperwork was done and the body was moved to Phumlani Funeral Services.”
But, the family’s attempts to get confirmation from the company on the burial date have not been successful.
When Scrolla.Africa contacted a representative from Phumlani Funeral Services, who identified himself as Tebogo, he laughed and said the burial would happen eventually before hanging up, complaining of network problems.
Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the municipality will follow up with the undertaker to resolve the issue.
