Zambian family digs up grave after burying wrong body

After an emotional send-off where some relatives even collapsed during body viewing, a grieving family of Lusaka discovered after burial this morning that they had buried the wrong body.

Family sources said that Ricky Mulenga died in his Matero home on Friday after a long illness upon which his body was deposited in the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) mortuary.

With his burial on today, Mulenga’s relatives picked what they believed was his body this morning, prepared it for burial and took it to Chingwere cemetery, his eternal resting place.

Survived by a wife and seven children, body viewing was an emotional affair as some relatives even collapsed as they paid their last respects and after the completion of all funeral rites, Mulenga’s coffin was lowered six feet under and buried.

However, as wreaths were being laid on the grave, shock overtook all mourners when a call came from the mortuary that they had buried a wrong body.

They were instructed to exhume the body, take it back to the UTH mortuary and claim the right one.

But as Mulenga’s family was burying a wrong body, another family at Leopards Hill Memorial Park was about to make the same mistake until an alert mourner noticed the pending mistake.

The two families have since switched the bodies and burial for both funerals is currently underway.

When contacted for a comment on the matter, UTH deputy Head of Clinic Care, Adult Hospital Dr Mwila Lupasha said he didn’t not immediately have the details and therefore could not speak about it.

Kalemba