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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
THE body of Alfred Khumalo, who died at Plumtree District Hospital earlier this month a year after he was deported from Botswana, is still stuck in the institution’s mortuary as no one has come forward to claim it.
Khumalo, 87, was deported from Botswana last August and spent a year in hospital but during his detention, no one came to visit him.
Hospital officials have since appealed to members of the public who knew him to approach them to facilitate a proper burial for a man who spent 70 years in Botswana.

Plumtree District Medical Officer Dr Langalokusa Sibanda confirmed that Khumalo’s body remains uncollected, but could not comment further.

However, a senior hospital staffer said a pauper’s burial may be considered if no-one comes forward.
“Unfortunately during the time which Khumalo spent at the hospital none of his relatives turned up to visit him. He was with us for a year but no one came. However, it is obvious that he has some relatives somewhere and we hope that they will turn up eventually.

“We still have him in our mortuary but if his relatives do not come then we will be forced to bury him. Khumalo deserves to be buried by his relatives just like any elderly person. We would greatly appreciate if anyone who knows him could come forth to assist,” he said.
After his deportation, Khumalo was referred to the hospital which later failed to discharge him amid reports that several old people’s homes had rejected him.

Despite recommendations to take him to a proper welfare centre, there was no help from several quarters, including the Department of Social Welfare.

Efforts to put him into Ekuphumuleni Old People’s Home in Bulawayo also flopped after officials at the institution requested a $50 fee per month for his upkeep, but the government indicated it could only provide $15.

He eventually succumbed to high blood pressure early this month.
Khumalo was born in 1917 in the Mbembesi area, Bubi District, and his father is believed to have been a missionary, while his mother is thought to have been from KwaZulu Natal Province in South Africa.

During his deportation, he said he did not know anyone in the country and indicated that he preferred going back to Botswana.
According to previous media reports, there was drama at Selebi-Phikwe government hospital when immigration officials dragged Khumalo from his hospital bed, where he was recovering from a stroke, for deportation.