Wait ends for SCOAN victims’ families

The Repatriation Team and Antonov 124 Cargo Plane arrives at Sam Ethnan Airfoce Base in Ikeja, Lagos. Nigeria.15/11/2014. Siyabulela Duda

The Repatriation Team and Antonov 124 Cargo Plane arrives at Sam Ethnan Airfoce Base in Ikeja, Lagos. Nigeria.15/11/2014. Siyabulela Duda

Published Nov 16, 2014

Share

 

Johannesburg - The remains of 74 of the 85 South Africans who died when a church guest house collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, are arriving on Sunday, ending a two-month wait marked by deep frustration for bereaved families and a flurry of diplomatic activity.

Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe led the delegation who collected the remains of the South Africans in an exercise that has cost the government millions.

The plane with the remains left Lagos last night, and was scheduled to arrive in Pretoria on Sunday morning.

President Jacob Zuma is expected to attend a special ceremony, scheduled for Sunday at the Waterkloof AirForce Base, to mark their return.

After the ceremony, the remains, flown here in refrigerated conditions on two military aircrafts, are to be handed over to the families.

At a press conference in Lagos on Saturday, Radebe said government was still of the view that the families should not view the bodies.

The Sunday Independent has previously reported that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition because of inadequate mortuary facilities in Lagos.

Radebe’s press conference was delayed by over six hours while he was in talks with Nigerian authorities.

In Pretoria, mortuary vans have been arranged to take the remains to other provinces.

The families were booked into hotels in Pretoria.

Among them was Anthony van der Byl, 54, a father of five from Plettenberg Bay, who was in The Synagogue, Church of all Nations guest house when it collapsed and whose wife, Louise, died beside him.

“We are obviously very relieved. We find comfort in that (Louise) will be coming home for burial,” he said on Saturday. “We will now find closure.” Van der Byl praised the government for its handling of the process it needed to follow to bring the South Africans’ remains home.

“I’m quite happy with the way government has handled the whole matter. They have been sensitive to our plight and helping us.”

 

Joe Jordan, from East London, said his family were relieved because they could finally prepare for the funeral of his son, Sidima.

 

Jordan, a former Eastern Cape ANC MPL, said a government official had visited his home on Friday afternoon and gave him details of the flight to Joburg.

He said his brother had travelled to Joburg.

“I’m relieved because we have been given confirmation that we will be receiving the body on Sunday,” Jordan said.

“This has been such a long wait. I can’t even describe what we went through. It’s been too traumatic. “We feel so much better because we can finally bury Sidima and get closure.”

According to an official, who asked not to be named, the government paid for the families to travel to Pretoria and for their hotel accommodation. “The government has also paid for the bodies to be transported to their homes,” the official said.

The official attributed the delay in the repatriation of bodies to tension between Nigeria and South Africa. “There was so much tension,” he said.

“We tried all we could to speed up the process to bring back the bodies, but the Nigerian government deliberately delayed the process.

“They just don’t like South Africa because we are the most powerful country on the continent. They just can’t stomach that. That’s why they have this attitude towards South Africa.”

The official added: “When South Africa was campaigning for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to become the chairwoman of the African Union Commission, Nigeria was actively campaigning against us.

“When we hosted the Brics summit in Durban, African leaders were invited, but the Nigerian president did not attend. Nigeria was calling other African leaders, discouraging them from attending.

“This problem – delaying the bodies – is political. This means a lot of innocent people who don’t know anything about politics have had to suffer because they are South Africans.”

The anguish was evident in Jordan’s voice as he spoke about the number of times he had prepared for his son's funeral.

“This has been such a painful period for my family. We need closure.

“As a father I’m in a very difficult situation. I just I want to get the opportunity to bury him and say goodbye.”

Jordan said his 8-year-old grandson had to drop out of school this year because he was not coping.

Sunday Independent

Related Topics: