Funeral parlor, family reach agreement on empty coffin scandal

Harare (New Ziana) – Doves Funeral Services said on Monday it has reached an agreement with the late Maxwell Chimwamurombe’s family, in a bid to give him a dignified burial.

The development follows a public fallout between the parties emanating from the improper burial of the late Nyanga man.

According to reports, the late Chimwamurombe was swept away by the river in Nyanga and his body was retrieved downstream near Mutoko in March this year.

It is alleged Doves collected the body of Maxwell from Parirenyatwa Group Hospital, but there was some confusion which resulted in morticians putting an empty body bag in his coffin before it was transported to Nyanga for burial.

Chimwamurombe’s body was reportedly mixed up with that of a pauper, who was buried in Harare at the Granville cemetery.

Without conducting body viewing due to the prevailing COVID-19 restrictions, the Chimwamurombe family went on to bury the empty coffin in Nyanga.

Some six months later, in October, the family learnt from sources that Doves had realised the anomaly three days after burial of the empty coffin, but decided to offer the deceased a pauper’s burial, without notifying the family.

In a bid to rectify the anomaly, Doves engaged the traditional leaders in Nyanga who fined them a beast and later allowed them to conduct a fresh burial in the area.

In a statement, Doves Funeral Services said the parlour and the Chimwamurombe family had agreed on how to resolve the issue.

“Both parties have realised that there is need to scientifically establish the truth, regarding the burial of the deceased, and correct any findings of impropriety arising out of the burial process,” said the parties in a joint statement.

The agreed process will entail exhuming the concerned graves, identification of any remains recovered, either through DNA tests or other means, and reburial of the deceased, if necessary.

“The parties acknowledge that any allegations circulating in the public domain, remain largely unverified, hence the need to expeditiously engage in approved scientific processes, that will bring closure to the family,” they said.

New Ziana