The Western Cape Health and Wellness Department (WCHD) is grappling with more than 300 unidentified bodies in its state mortuaries, with 66 of them being children and the majority being men, according to Department spokesperson Byron Le Hoe.
The Western Cape Health and Wellness Department is grappling with more than 300 unidentified bodies in its state mortuaries, with 66 of them being children and the majority being men, according to Department spokesperson Byron Le Hoe.‘These include children who may have been admitted in the last few months of the 2023/24 financial year where the deceased had not yet been identified,’ Le Hoe explained.
Le Hoe stated that the South African Police Service holds the responsibility for identifying decedents, with support from the health department’s Forensic Pathology Service . Sergeant Wesley Twigg, a spokesperson for the Western Cape police, stated that a deceased person is classified as ‘unknown’ or ‘unidentified’ when their family cannot be located, and DNA samples cannot be linked to any relatives.
‘This period includes DNA sampling or when the SAPS investigating officer confirms the conclusion of their investigation or search for relatives,’ added Le Hoe.After seven days, if fingerprints are still unidentifiable, the SAPS detective obtains them and sends them to the Department of Home Affairs and the Local Criminal Record Centre . In some cases, the detective may first search the provincial criminal database.
Le Hoe explained, ‘If the SAPS investigating officer cannot locate the family, they will authorise the burial of the deceased. FPS then begins burial arrangements with the municipality after completing all processes.’
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