Moffat Mungazi
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
THE Tafura family of Manyaya Village, under Chief Mutema in Chipinge, has finally laid their son, Peace Tafura (23), to rest nearly two months after his tragic death in South Africa.
Peace lost his life in a shootout in Rustenburg on November 16, and the journey to bring his body back home was prolonged and marred by confusion, financial difficulties, and a devastating mix-up that led to the initial repatriation and subsequent burial of the wrong corpse.
Robert Tafura, the father of the deceased, confirmed in an interview on Monday that his son’s correct body was finally laid to rest that morning.
“My son was buried this morning,” he said.
“After nearly two months of waiting and confusion, we have finally laid Peace to rest. The process was difficult, and we endured immense pain, but it is a relief that this chapter has been closed, despite the suffering we endured.”
Tafura further explained that the family had taken extra precautions to ensure that they were burying the correct body.
“We conducted a body viewing to confirm that it was indeed my son we were laying to rest,” he said.
“We could not bear the thought of making the same mistake twice. Additionally, we prepared a new grave for Peace, avoiding the previous one, as we were advised that reusing it could have spiritual implications,” he said.
Tafura described the process of repatriating his son’s body from South Africa as complex and time-consuming ordeal, involving numerous legal and administrative hurdles.
“I travelled to South Africa, but unfortunately, I could not bring my son’s body back home immediately,” he said.
“Our initial attempt was thwarted when we discovered that the body we had buried was not Peace’s. Instead, we had mistakenly buried a Malawian national. This led to a painful exhumation process and further delays in bringing Peace’s body back home,” he said, recalling his frustrations.
The mix-up at Deep Float Funeral Parlour in South Africa, where Peace’s body was being held, was only discovered on the day of the burial.
Officials from South Africa alerted the hearse driver of the mistake, prompting the exhumation of the foreigner’s body.
The exhumed body was transferred to a mortuary in Beitbridge, while the Tafura family was left in a state of uncertainty, anxiously awaiting the repatriation of their son’s body.
The prolonged and complicated funeral process took a significant emotional and financial toll on the family.
“Mourners came and went for over a month, and we had to continue providing for them, depleting our resources,” he said.
“We held on to the hope that the situation would be resolved soon, but the prolonged uncertainty took a devastating emotional toll and placed an unbearable financial burden on us.”
The prolonged funeral also raised concerns within the community, especially regarding the cultural and spiritual implications of a funeral that lasted for so long without the presence of the body.
Tafura expressed relief, but acknowledged the deep emotional scars that the ordeal left on the family. “It was a difficult journey, and the emotional pain will remain with us. Since Peace was finally buried, we can begin to heal, even though it has taken so long,” he said.
Councillor Pearson Sithole also expressed sympathy for the family, given the hardships they endured.
“It was heart breaking to see a family going through so much grief. The ordeal of burying the wrong body, and waiting for the return of the correct one was unbearable for them. Now that Peace has been laid to rest, we hope the family can find peace and closure,” he said.
Shona tradition dictates that a funeral should last only three days, and the extended mourning period was seen as a bad omen.
“This funeral went on for far too long. We were worried about the spiritual consequences. We just wanted to lay our son to rest with dignity and finally, we have done so,” said Theressa Tafirei, a close relative.
Village head Tinonesana Sithole shared similar concerns, noting that the mix-up and delayed burial could have had spiritual implications.
“The prolonged delay and confusion surrounding Peace’s burial could have led to spiritual unrest. When the wrong body was buried, we feared that the spirit of the deceased had not been pacified. The family did not do body viewing before the burial, and this could have been avoided. Now we are dealing with a situation where a foreign corpse was buried, and the family must perform rituals to restore spiritual balance. We are, however, grateful that the right corpse was finally buried,” said Sithole.
