Daily Sun (July 9 2015) - THE DEATH of a newborn baby is a tragedy no parent should have to endure.
But for Ntsekiseng and Bheki it was only the beginning of a horror story that is still not over.
THEY HAD TO GO TO A MORTUARY TO IDENTIFY THE BODY OF THEIR DEAD BABY.
“They showed me the bodies of six little babies before I found my child,” said Ntsekiseng Gobela (29) from Zola 3, Soweto, Joburg.
“But my child’s body had other information on the identity tag.”
She said government mortuary officials at Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Jabulani would not let her take the body.
“They told me my child was missing,” said Ntsekiseng.
“I’m confused. I don’t know what to do.” The baby died only a few hours after birth on Monday, 29 June.
But when the family gathered for the funeral the following Monday, they found the body they were preparing for burial was the wrong body. “We went to the hospital. At first, they refused to tell us what happened to my dead baby but later hospital officials told me and my boyfriend the body of my dead son was missing from the mortuary,” she said.
She said she asked management if she could look for her son’s body herself – but when she identified him, staff would not release the body.
The father of the boy, Bheki Tshabalala (28), said he wants to know who took the body.
“Where did that person take the body? I want to bury my son where my ancestors are resting,” said Bheki.
“I can’t sleep,” said Ntsekiseng.
“When I close my eyes I see the bodies I viewed at the mortuary. My life is in a mess. I can’t think properly. I need counselling.”
Ntsekiseng’s sister, Nokuthula Gabela (29) said if they hadn’t noticed what was going on they could have buried the wrong body.
“The hospital must be held responsible for the pain we have suffered,” she said.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesman Steve Mabona said the department regrets the confusion.
He said the department has suspended the clerk and the three mortuary attendants involved while investigations are under way.
“The investigations will include DNA verifications,” he said.
“And the hospital will cover the expenses incurred by the family.”
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