Staff ReporterIn a heart-wrenching incident of mistaken identity, a family in Gweru endured the trauma of burying the wrong body, a mistake discovered only after the other aggrieved family noticed the error during a body viewing. This rare and painful mix-up involved the bodies of Takudzwa Chipadza and Courage Sibanda, who both tragically lost their lives in separate incidents in Mkoba.
According to local police reports, on December 6, Chipadza’s family mistakenly collected what they believed was Takudzwa’s body from the Gweru Provincial Hospital mortuary. They proceeded with the burial the following day at Mutasa Cemetery.
Simultaneously, the Sibanda family, also bereaved, collected what they thought was Courage’s body from the same mortuary, heading to Somabhula for the funeral. The shocking discovery of the body swap was made during the viewing ceremony.
A police spokesperson reported, “The families promptly informed the authorities at Gweru Provincial Hospital. After a distressing but necessary identification process, it was confirmed that the body returned was indeed Takudzwa Chipadza’s. Sadly, Courage Sibanda had already been mistakenly buried by the Chipadza family.”
This error led to the exhumation of Sibanda’s body a week later. Both bodies were then rightfully returned to their grieving families for proper burial ceremonies.
The funerals for both individuals were scheduled to take place on Friday. The incident has raised concerns about procedures at the hospital mortuary, and investigations are underway to prevent such mistakes in the future.
This tragic event serves as a somber reminder of the importance of strict adherence to identification protocols in medical and mortuary services.
