Pretoria - Family members of the South Africans who lost their lives at the Synagogue Church of all Nations in Lagos, Nigeria, on September 12 have been advised not to view the mortal remains of their relatives on their repatriation to South Africa.
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said the Department of Social Development has advised families not to view their relatives’ bodies despite prevailing traditional customs.
This was out of concern for potential secondary trauma this may cause and the public health considerations.
“Because of the nature and scale of the disaster, the passage of time and climate conditions in Lagos the remains are not in a good state to be viewed,” the minister said. Currently 115 people are said to have lost their lives in the incident, with 84 being South African citizens.
“So far we have managed to capture the fingerprints of the deceased,” Radebe said.
“We are running the prints through the Department of Home Affairs database and expect to have completed comparisons by the end of the week,” he said.
Alternative means of dental records and DNA analysis are also being used as the forensic evidence has been compromised in some cases.
It has also been established that three Zimbabwe citizens and one from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were among those killed in the disaster.
South African forensic experts are in Lagos, but they are not allowed to perform post mortems on the victims owing to the differences in laws governing the certification of health professionals in Nigeria.
“According to Nigerian law a post mortem must be performed on all deceased persons and a death certificate must be issued before the mortal remains may be repatriated back home,” said Radebe.
A total of 18 post mortems had been concluded to date, Radebe said, but because the South African team of forensic experts was only present in an observatory position, repatriation may take longer than thought.
Radebe said preparations for the repatriation of the remains have already been organised and an appropriate facility has been identified where family members can receive the remains.
“We will repatriate the remains of the deceased on a single flight that is properly equipped for the task when we have the go-ahead from the Nigerian authorities,” Radebe said.
Those requiring assistance or grief counselling are advised to call the Social Development toll-free number: 0800 428 428, alternatively to send a “Please call me” to: *120*7867# to be assisted by professional counsellors.
Pretoria News