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Is it really Phumzile?

NOT SATISFIED: Lwandle Mkhulisi with a picture of his sister Phumzile, who died in the Nigerian church collapse last year, at his home in Wattville on the East Rand PHOTO: Veli Nhlapo
NOT SATISFIED: Lwandle Mkhulisi with a picture of his sister Phumzile, who died in the Nigerian church collapse last year, at his home in Wattville on the East Rand PHOTO: Veli Nhlapo

Not even three independent sets of DNA results have been able to convince an Ekurhuleni family that the body handed to them is their relative who died in the tragic Nigerian church building collapse last year.

The Mkhulisi family from Wattville in Benoni yesterday said that as preparations for the burial at the weekend were being finalised, they were still not satisfied.

Phumzile Patricia Mkhulisi, 47, was among 85 South Africans who died when popular evangelist TB Joshua's church guesthouse collapsed on September 12 2014.

For months the families of relatives who died in Nigeria had to wait for the bodies to be repatriated. The families were angry at the lack of communication from the government because this raised confusion.

More than 70 bodies were finally brought home in November. The others were left behind for more tests to verify their identities.

The government had advised the families not to view the bodies because they were badly decomposed.

In many cases the bodies were not taken into homes. Hearses would arrive just as the funeral service was to be completed.

Phumzile's brother Lwandle Mkhulisi said the family's suspicions were raised when they viewed the body after its return in February but could not identify its features.

"At first we were prevented from viewing the body but we defied that directive. What was worse was that the body did not have a distinctive gap in the front teeth.There were other features on the body that we cannot identify.

"My mother still cannot connect with the body. We have doubts, but we have to go ahead with the burial due to the circumstances," Lwandle Mkhulisi said.

After the family said it wanted to do a DNA test to confirm if the body was indeed that of Phumzile Mkhulisi, the government referred them to a private company.

"We did not trust the result because they did not even give us a report or explanation. We found another company, the results still came back positive, but there was no report.

"The third company we went to was able to break things down to us. We accepted the scientific results but we are not convinced. We come from a cultural background and it seems as if we are punishing our sister if it is her," Lwandle Mkhulisi said.

Phumzile Mkhulisi had two sons aged 25 and 30. She will be buried on Saturday.

mashabas@sowetan.co.za

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