The 'living dead'
2003-07-03 08:46
Craig Bishop
Durban - The KZN ANC has accused a Newcastle funeral parlour owner of fuelling racial tension in the town and besmirching the name of South African heroes by displaying tombstones of living people in his window.
Following complaints this week, irate members of the ANC visited Pete Coetzee, owner of the James Crankshaw funeral parlour, to complain about the presence of certain tombstone samples in his shop window.
One was apparently dedicated to the late ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu, but incorrectly displayed the date of birth as 03.11.1932, whereas Sisulu was born in 1912. His date of death was given as 01.06.2000 instead of 05.05.2003.
Another was dedicated to former Bafana Bafana captain and Leeds United striker Lucas Radebe. The inscriptions angered both the Sisulu family and Radebe's manager Glyn Binkin.
Both Binkin and Sisulu's sister, Eleanor Sisulu, criticised the exploitation of popular names. Sisulu said the family are deeply upset by the use of the family name for advertising purposes.
Locals asked why the owner does not make samples of white heroes.
Coetzee replied on Wednesday that the whole matter is a case of mistaken identity. He said the letter cutters at the back of the shop pick names at random and mean no offence to the living or the dead.
"The inscription could have read 'Rest in Peace Peter Coetzee' and some other Peter Coetzee out there could have seen this and got angry," he said.
One Newcastle resident, Sam Zwane, said the use of Sisulu's name on a tombstone while he was still alive was not only offensive to the Zulu nation but could also have contributed to Sisulu's death.
KZN ANC spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu demanded a public apology from Coetzee, failing which, he said, the ANC will mobilise a boycott of the business.
Coetzee said the offending tombstones have been removed from the shop window.
- The Witness