After months of agony and uncertainty the family of Patricia Mkhulisi, who died in the Nigerian church collapse last year, were convinced they had been given a stranger’s body, but yesterday a pathologist’s report confirmed the remains were hers. However, Mkhulisi’s brother, Lwandle Mkhulisi, said the family might approach another laboratory for a second opinion, saying the tests were done at a laboratory suggested to them by the department of health.
The pathologist’s report confirmed the DNA samples matched those of Mkhulisi’s children, verifying the body was hers.
Lwandle Mkhulisi said his mother was not satisfied with the results. The e-mail from the department of health set out guidelines for the tests to be conducted and stated the DNA samples had to be sent to a recognised laboratory. It recommended DNA-Biotech, Ampath and Lancet laboratories.
Lwandle did not specify which laboratory the family went to, nor did he explain why they were not convinced by the latest report.
Mkhulisi’s body was one of the last 11 repatriated from Nigeria after the Synagogue Church of All Nations disaster last September in which 116 people lost their lives – 81 being South Africans.
When the body was returned to the family about a month ago, the Mkhulisi family’s heartache was replaced by anger, as they believed they had been deceived.
Lwandle Mkhulisi said they looked for a gap that Mkhulisi had in her teeth, but the teeth of the body they were given did not have a gap. He added they were unable to see other facial features, as there were head injuries, nor could they identify the rest of the body.
Mkhulisi’s death certificate from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital said she had died from exsanguination (blood loss to a degree sufficient to cause death), disruption of the right brachial vessels and “building collapse”.
“We have no evidence this is my sister. We were given the body in a bag with a certificate which had no thumbprints on it, told not to open the bag and to just bury it,” said Lwandle Mkhulisi.
The initial DNA tests on samples from victims’ bodies sent to South Africa were conducted by Dr Munro Marx, head of Stellenbosch University’s Unistel Medical Laboratories.
He said Mkhulisi’s DNA sample matched her two children and brother.
Friday 6 March 2015
http://citizen.co.za/339122/nigeria-building-collapse-body-saga-buried/
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