Daily Sun (December 12 2014) - ANYBODY can just walk into the mortuary. Bodies lie around on the slabs and in broken fridges.
BLOOD FROM THE RECENTLY DEAD IS RUNNING INTO THE STREET.
It is a grim welcome to the government mortuary of blood.
"I arrived at the mortuary looking for a lost relative. There was no access control and there were no staff members on the premises," Arnold Pule from Kuruman in the Northern Cape toldDaily Sun on Wednesday.
"I saw an uncovered body on the table and a body in a broken fridge. Other bodies lay in fridges with the doors open."
Pule said residents are filled with fear and shock. They can't believe dead people's blood is flowing from the Kuruman government hospital's mortuary into the streets. And he said it's strange since the lights were working at the hospital.
"We don't know how these people died or who they are and yet we are made to jump over their blood every day because the
department of health has turned a blind eye to it," he said. He said this has been going on for two weeks and is still continuing.
Pule said they also fear for the health of the children who play barefoot in the streets.
"A hospital is a place where health is supposed to be a priority. If these things are going on here, what are ordinary people supposed to do?" he asked.
Sangoma Dumezweni Mahabuke said this is a bad omen.
"You can't have dead people's blood flowing in the streets," he said. "Walking over the blood of people you don't even know can bring terribly bad luck."
Louise Pieterse of AfriForum in Kimberley said they were going to open a case of criminal negligence against the head of the hospital, Agnes Sesing.
"All South Africans have the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and that right has been violated," she said.
"The blood can contaminate the ground water which is used by farmers for irrigation and people may consume contaminated crops."
Gail Parker of the ANC in Kimberly refused to comment, saying Daily Sun should speak to the department of health.
Northern Cape department of health spokeswoman Lulu Mxekezo confirmed that Kuruman Hospital was currently experiencing challenges regarding infrastructure.
The mortuary was closed yesterday and will remain closed for some time.
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