Bodies of 74 victims to be transported to SA

Saturday, November 15, 2014

By Chris Bathembu

Lagos – Government has confirmed that the bodies of 74 South Africans, who died when a guesthouse collapsed in Nigeria over two months ago, will be transported from Lagos to Pretoria on Saturday night.

This was announced by Special Envoy to Nigeria and Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, at a media briefing in Lagos this evening.

“Government appreciates the patience and understanding that has been shown by the families and South Africa. True to the commitment made by our President, Jacob Zuma, tonight we depart with the bodies of the South Africans who died in the guesthouse tragedy,” Minister Radebe said.

Minister Radebe was appointed as Special Envoy by President Jacob Zuma last week to hold meetings with the Nigerian Federal Government authorities, as well as Lagos State authorities with a view to expedite the repatriation of the mortal remains.

Eighty one South Africans were among the 116 people killed when the multi-storey guesthouse collapsed on 12 September.

“Over the last six weeks, the focus has been on preparations and on ensuring a smooth and dignified repatriation,” said the Minister, adding that this had been a difficult process due to the nature of the incident.

The bodies of those who were not coming home on Sunday will be repatriated once the identification process is concluded by the Nigerian authorities.

Government, said Minister Radebe, would continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all the victims of the tragedy return home.

Pathologists have worked around the clock over the past two months, analysing DNA samples to identify the bodies.

A South African National Defence Force aircraft arrived in Lagos in the early hours of Saturday morning to collect the bodies.

A high-level team - consisting of 87 specialist members from the Department of Health, the South African Police Service and the South African Military Health Service - was involved in the all-night operation on Friday night to prepare the bodies for their journey to South Africa.

The remains will be loaded in specialised mortuary trucks that will be transported by the Antonov aircraft for the six to seven hour journey from Lagos to Pretoria.

The bodies are expected to arrive at Waterkloof Air Force base on Sunday morning.

Due the nature of the incident and the fact that some bodies had reached an advanced decomposition stage at the time of recovery, it was the position of government that the bodies not be viewed by the families. 

Formal reception at Waterkloof

President Zuma, top government officials and invited dignitaries will join the families of those who died for an official reception at Waterkloof on Sunday afternoon.

The repatriation of the bodies to Pretoria on Saturday will mark an end to the two-month ordeal faced by the families. The handover of the remains for burial, it is hoped, will begin a period of healing.

Social workers from the Department of Social Development are in continuous engagement with the families regarding the logistics around their participation in Sunday’s ceremony.

The event is strictly by invitation and no person without formal accreditation will be allowed to enter the Air Force Base Waterkloof, government said.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on national television, and South Africans are encouraged to watch.

Private funerals

At the end of the formal reception ceremony, the mortal remains will be transported by road to the closest government Forensic Pathology Services mortuaries in the different provinces.

From there, the mortal remains will be transported to the government mortuary closest to the place of burial where they will be received by their next-of-kin.

Individual families will proceed with their own private funeral arrangements. The Department of Health will guide the family-appointed private funeral directors on how to manage the remains in line with the relevant health protocols.

Government will deploy social workers to continue to provide psychosocial support to the affected families. – SAnews.gov.za