Durban - The family of an Umlazi man who had been searching for him for more than a year were not only shocked to learn that he had been in a state mortuary, but that he had been given a pauper’s burial.
Nhlakanipho Myeza disappeared in June last year and it was suspected that he was killed by a taxi boss. His family learned on Wednesday that he was given a pauper’s burial four months ago because no one had identified him for 13 months.
Myeza, 26, was accused of stealing from the taxi boss’ residence.
He was then allegedly cornered and assaulted by a group of men who were at the house at the time. A witness, whose whereabouts are not known, informed Myeza’s family that he had been severely beaten. However, family members were reluctant to approach the taxi owner out of fear.
Hours following the assault, paramedics were called by community members to attend to an injured man in umlazi who had been dumped on the side of the road suffering from an open wound to the head, had visible stab wounds and skin blisters that peeled off as though burned.
The injured man, later identified as Myeza, provided paramedics with an incorrect identity before he succumbed to his injuries at the scene. He was then taken to the Gale Street Mortuary.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said the investigating officer followed all possible leads to locate the next of kin of the deceased, known to them as Lindani Dube, but the efforts were in vain.
In September last year, three months after Myeza’s disappearance, his family opened a missing person’s case at Bhekithemba police station. Months went by without any information until the family was told in March, days before the implementation of the national lockdown, that the officer would resume the investigation once the lockdown was lifted.
Myeza’s sister Nelly said when police visited last Friday they were hoping for good news, but lost hope when they were told he had died last year.
“We are still puzzled as to why he identified himself as Lindani Dube, because that was our neighbour and his best friend from Empangeni,” she said. “We were told that his thighs had been burned with acid, he had a hole below his heart and one on his head. He was possibly burned using an iron. We cannot believe that he was lying at the mortuary for over a year.
“Police were shocked because they were still in the process of finding us. They asked us to pay R1 700 for him to be exhumed and to conduct a DNA test.”
Sunday Tribune