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SHOCKED: A coffin which Caiphus Mokoena was supposed to be buried in was dumped at the gate of his house, where his wife and children live, by his relatives. Photo: Sibongile Mashaba

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A coffin in which Donicky Mokoena's husband Caiphus was to be buried in last weekend was at the gate of their home in Mshandza village, near Hazyview, Mpumalanga.

Mokoena alleges that her mother-in-law and husband's brothers hijacked a hearse and took the coffin on Saturday while it was on its way to the cemetery. Her son Senzo, 21, was allegedly assaulted during the incident.

"I do not know why they are doing all this. They are hurting me and my children. Whatever I have done to my mother-in-law, I plead for forgiveness.

"Now they have placed the coffin I bought for my husband at the gate. What am I supposed to do with it?" asked a weeping Mokoena.

Her husband died in a car accident on July 8.

Mokoena's lawyer, Vusi Mboweni, said his client had won the case to bury her husband in the traditional and magistrate's courts when her mother-in-law and other members of his family contested who had the right to bury him.

"The high court matter should have been finalised last Friday but was postponed to August 10. The family of the deceased is making allegations that my client and her husband divorced in 2010. We do not have the divorce decree."

Mokoena's son Senzo, 21, said the family had made arrangements for the burial because their father had been in the mortuary for a long time.

Caiphus Mokoena's cousin Caners Nyundu said: "We buried my cousin on Saturday because he divorced his wife in 2010.

"We do not have a problem with the children. The only person we have a problem with is their mother. She is disrespectful," he said.

The National Prosecuting Authority said this was a civil matter and they only commented on criminal cases they dealt with.

Mboweni said he would be making an urgent application to the Pretoria High Court to have the body exhumed.

Comments

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Wed Jun 19 14:19:57 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 31, 2012

MommaC

LOL
Poor dude. Can't even escape the family squabbles when he's dead.
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Jul 31, 2012

Memme

Family politics .....

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Jul 31, 2012

Mellow

Some families are just bloody selfish, fighting for a corpse? How embarrassing and you'd think its was time for them to bury hatchet haai vok
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Jul 31, 2012

Mokwepa

i did this back in 2008 to my other family....sometimes famalies ten to take advantge
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Jul 31, 2012

Mrazane

When will people understand that marriage is primarily between two people, a man is buried by his wife and a wife by her husband, as the family you may dislike your child's spouse but it does not take away that person's rights in terms of the law and before God. The bible says a man will leave his family and cleave to his wife so really now usile lo mama nabantwana bakhe ubangisa umakoti ipaycheck. Most probably eyakhe indoda yamo lahla now she is being a pest and pain to her sons and their wives.
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Jul 31, 2012

Kagawa

Look at the value of the gate is far above the coffin, so this lady she wanted to gain out of her former husband, now she deserve what she got. Good job guys.
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Jul 31, 2012

Galfrend

Kagawa - Really? What about the poor dead husband? Some mothers in laws kodwa? Can you imagine the pain of losing a husband and the family now has to hurt you even more?
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Jul 31, 2012

Chichi7

It is for this reason i will only marry an orphan. In-laws make life hard for a daughter in law and yet they usually fear the son in law.
There is nothing they can do if the man was still married to this woman. Their behaviour is extremely childish.
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Jul 31, 2012

SKIZOBANTWANA

ub'HLANYA bani mara kubantu abamnyama... Jeeeer this drives me against the wall indeed''
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Jul 31, 2012

papamasentlelebonolo

What proof do they have that they were divorced and his death was supposed to bring them together, hai and this is all for money nxa
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