Police order return of dead miner's body

• Published date: 22 August 2016
• Publication title: The Sunday News

POLICE in Gwanda last week ordered the return of the body of a miner from Mberengwa before it was buried for further investigations and a post-mortem, Sunday News has learnt. The miner, Mugovewashe Kwashira (27), died on Monday last week after he plunged 160 metres from a ladder that he was using to go down a mine shaft at Vumbachikwe Mine.

Matabeleland South Province police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident saying there was a communication breakdown between the hospital and the deceased's family.

'When the person died the body was taken to Gwanda Provincial Hospital mortuary awaiting transfer to United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem but before this happened there was communication breakdown as the family of the deceased claimed the body in Gwanda and they went to Mberengwa without our knowledge and a post-mortem had not yet been done yet,' he said.

Insp Ndebele said they were then notified of the incident and they ordered the family to return the body to Gwanda where it was eventually taken to UBH for a post-mortem.

'The body came to Bulawayo where the post-mortem showed that there was nothing suspicious with the corpse. It is, however, standard procedure that when a person dies a post-mortem is carried out to ascertain the cause of death and also for the police to carry out any investigations. We blame human error in this incident,' he said.

A post-mortem can only be waivered if the resident magistrate of the area sees it fit. Sources at the gold mine said the body had been ferried to Mberengwa for burial when the police ordered it back. The source said there were news...