By Chris Bathembu
Lagos – Government says it is all systems go for the repatriation of the remains of the South Africans who died in Nigeria when a multi-storey guesthouse attached to the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed more than two months ago.
An aircraft carrying medical teams and forensic experts will arrive in Lagos from Pretoria at 10pm on Friday. The team will work around the clock to prepare the bodies for their journey to South Africa.
The Nigerian defence department has also agreed to the use of its air force base to allow for a smooth hand over process of the bodies to the South Africans.
A second aircraft, carrying mortuary trucks, will arrive in Lagos on Saturday night.
“It’s all systems go, we are scheduled to have a media briefing on Saturday morning where Minister Jeff Radebe will be briefing South Africans about the final number that we will be taking back to South Africa,” said Phumla Williams, spokesperson for the Inter-Ministerial Committee tasked with handling the tragedy.
Up to 81 South Africans died when the guesthouse, in Lagos, collapsed on 12 September. It is the largest number of South Africans to die on foreign soil since the advent of democracy in 1994.
Different laws in Nigeria, which is a federal state, and the absence of forensic laboratories in the country has led to delays in DNA analysis to identify the bodies.
The University of Stellenbosch near Cape Town was commissioned to perform the DNA tests using samples flown in from Nigeria and matching them with those of family members in South Africa.
The delay in releasing the bodies prompted President Jacob Zuma to appoint a Special Envoy - Minister Radebe - to oversee and expedite the repatriation proces.
On Thursday, Minister Radebe visited the site of the tragedy, where the rubble could be seen.
The bodies that are headed for Pretoria will include those of the Zimbabwean and Democratic Republic of Congo nationals who carried South African passports when they travelled to Nigeria.
The repatriation of the remains to South Africa will mark the first step towards closure and healing for the families who have been waiting for more than two months to bury their loved ones who died in the tragedy.
Since the tragedy, social workers from the Department of Social Development have been visiting families to provide them with updates and psychosocial support.
Social workers will also be on standby on Sunday during a formal reception for the mortal remains at Waterkloof Air force base on Sunday.
There will be a prayer service led by the Chaplain General and only family members of the deceased and invited dignitaries will be in attendance.
The remains will then be handed over to families for burials in different parts of the country. – SAnews.gov.za
