Bodies rot in stinking mortuary
2006-06-20 13:45
Riot Hlatshwayo, Oris Mnisi
Bushbuckridge - When Sipho Walter Mathebula died in hospital, his family found his body already starting to decompose in a stinking mortuary buzzing with flies.
When they asked why his body was such a bad state, they were told that the hospital didn't always have electricity and that the generators didn't work.
"We are still in shock. Our brother's body was swollen and the smell that came out of the mortuary was so unbearable that everyone was forced to cover their noses and mouths," said his half-brother, Noel Mnisi, this week.
Mathebula had been admitted to Mapulaneng hospital near Bushbuckridge after being transferred from the Thulamahashe health centre on Friday, June 2, because he was vomiting blood. He died the next day.
"We were instructed to quickly look for a private mortuary, but weren't told why," said Mnisi.
When they went to collect his body on June 5, they were horrified at what they found.
"There were flies all over the mortuary and other people who had come to collect the bodies of their loved ones were also complaining about the conditions," said Mnisi.
He said some bodies were lying on the ground.
Spokesperson for the Mpumalanga department of health and social services, Mpho Gabashane, said on Tuesday that an internal investigation confirmed that Mathebula's body as well as two others had started to decompose because a refrigerator in which they were kept had broken down for a day.
He denied there had been a power failure, or that bodies were lying on the floor.
He said the broken refrigerator was sent for repairs and that any other problems should be resolved once Mapulaneng hospital appoints a full-time mortuary attendant, which the hospital was currently doing.