NUMBER 29                                     JULY, 2001

Man Finally Finds Father’s Missing Body

By Monica Kunda

A resident of Choma town was last month assisted by the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) to find his father’s missing body.

Obert Hatuleke complained to the Livingstone legal advisor Joe Mulafulafu about his father’s missing body after it was taken to Batoka Hospital.

Hatuleke said on March 10 this year his father died of suspected cholera and his body was put in Batoka Hospital Mortuary for four days.

The following day the deceased’s uncle Philip Phiri was informed about the death but did nothing to facilitate his burial because Obert was not around.

On March 14, the body was buried without the consent of the family.

After ten days, Hatuleke’s family gathered and went to the mortuary to get the body to prepare it for disposal.

They were accompanied by Constable William Kamanga from the prisons, the officer who was at the bedside of the deceased when he was dying.

At the mortuary they searched for the body but could not find it.

When they checked with the mortuary attendant’s records, it was indicating that the body had not been collected. They also checked with the Council’s record which indicated they had not buried the body.

They went back to the prisons to seek clarity on what had happened to the body and they were told the body was still in the mortuary.

Later on, they where referred to Dr Mwewa, Executive Director at Livingstone Hospital Board of Management, who referred them to the two officers. The family failed to contact the officers because they were out of the office.

When the family saw that nothing was done, they went to seek legal advice from Livingstone legal advice centre.

Legal Resources Foundation lawyer Kachesa Cheelo took up the matter and wrote a letter to Batoka Hospital demanding them to release the body immediately.

Dr Mwewa said the body had been disposed according to the Public Health Act which stipulates the disposal of patients who had died from infectious illness.

This explanation did not satisfy Cheelo and the deceased’s relatives. Therefore, they arranged for a meeting with the Hospital officials on March 29.

During the meeting, Dr Mwewa and public relations officer Kaigo said they had already buried the body and there was an ommission of record by both the Hospital and the Council.

On March 30, Obert with the help of the Legal Resources Foundation knew where his father’s body was buried.

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