It has also been established that the compromised staff
members were being paid handsomely — an average of US$50 — whenever they handed
over corpses of those who would have died while admitted at the provincial
referral institution to the private funeral parlour.
To bend the rules and force bereaved families to engage the
funeral service provider, those without funeral policies were reportedly made
to believe that the hospital’s mortuary was malfunctioning and referred to
Sojourner.
Investigations established that Victoria Chitepo Provincial
Hospital’s morgue is in good working order.
Sojourner Funeral Parlour’s truck is usually conveniently
parked at the hospital gate.
At times, when one dies while in admission, the body is
handed over to the funeral parlour without the consent of the deceased person’s
relatives, with family members only coming in later to negotiate the price for
burial services.
Investigations conducted by The Manica Post, spanning over
three weeks, revealed that Mr Tongai Nongerai, an employee of the Ministry of
Health and Child Care at the mortuary wing, is also attached to Sojourner
Funeral Parlour.
When Manica Post called Mr Nongerai on March 17 and feigned
family bereavement, he said he worked for Sojourner.
In that telephone conversation, Mr Nongerai said taking the
body to their rented Doves mortuary would cost US$50.
He also said the cheapest charge for all the funeral
services was US$300.
However, Doves Funeral Services spokesperson, Mr Innocent
Tshuma, distanced his company from Sojourner Funeral Parlour.
He said Sojourner could be taking corpses to Doves
mortuaries just like any other client without any binding contract with the
company.
“We do not rent out our mortuaries to anyone. We are also
aware of those funeral parlours that have their vehicles parked just outside
hospitals as they wait for bodies,” he said.
But Sojourner Funeral Parlour owner, Mr Tafadzwa Mukwati,
defended Mr Nongerai and his company.
“While Mr Nongerai is employed by Government through the
Ministry of Health and Child Care, he also serves us on a part time basis and
there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
On February 19, there was drama at Victoria Chitepo
Provincial Hospital when a bereaved family from Gwese Village, Mutare, arrived
to collect the body of their deceased relative.
The family got the shock of their lives when they discovered
that the body had already been taken by Sojourner Funeral Parlour’s truck.
A heated dispute ensued and efforts to get the body back
into the hospital mortuary were fruitless as the mortuary attendant on duty
argued that the body could have been tampered with during the one-hour long
period it was under the custody of the private funeral parlour.
“We left the hospital to get some medication that was
prescribed for our niece who was admitted at the hospital. Upon our return, we
were informed that she had passed on. What disturbed us the most is that the
body of the deceased was not in the hospital ward or the mortuary.
“Instead, it had already been placed in the Sojourner
Funeral Parlour vehicle. We were not happy about it and we had a heated argument
with the authorities over the issue,” said a relative who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
But Mr Mukwati said the incident was a minor
misunderstanding as they were later contracted to provide funeral services for
the client in question.
He said his company’s operations are above board.
“We are an ethical entity and we have been operating within
the standard procedures of the industry. I think this is all coming from our
rivals in business. That is the nature of business competition. At times
competitors use such tactics to tarnish a rivals’ image when they feel the
heat.
When contacted for comment, Victoria Chitepo Provincial
Hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr Dorcas Masanga-Mutede did not respond to
questions sent to her.
After several attempts to get in touch with her, she was no
longer reachable.
However, The Manica Post has established that a committee
has since been set up at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital to look into the
issue after Manicaland Provincial Medical Director, Dr Simon Nyadundu
intervened.
President of the Funeral Services Association of Zimbabwe,
Dr Chomi Makina said funeral parlours need to operate within the confines of
the law.
“There is a Cemeteries Act as well as a Cremation Act which
has to be adhered to when conducting funeral business.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care and City Health
departments are regulators in terms of how human remains are disposed of.
Associations such as the Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers (ZAFA) and
Funeral Directors Association of Zimbabwe (FUDAZ) have been created for funeral
assurers and funeral service providers so that self-regulation takes place in
the industry.
“The International School of Funeral Business Management
(ISFBM) have also been established to educate and empower morticians,
undertakers and all funeral parlour personnel to understand the field and
sciences underpinning this noble profession,” said Dr Makina.
Bogus funeral assurers operating without the required
licensces are on the prowl across the province and the country at large.
To register a funeral parlour in Zimbabwe requires several
steps.
These include incorporating the company in Zimbabwe,
registering with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), National Employment
Council (NEC), National Social Security Authority (NSSA), Zimbabwe Association
of Funeral Assurers (ZAFA) and Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC),
depending on whether you are a funeral service provider or a funeral assurer. Manica
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