Mourners have been given the shock of their lives after the coffin carrying their loved one suddenly broke during his funeral.
Edward Lucas throwback photo
An 85-year-old South African man, Edward Lucas who died recently, was widely considered a man of dignity by all who knew him. When he died, his family wanted to give him a dignified funeral, but that didn’t entirely happen!
Accoding to Daily Sun SA, on Saturday, as Edward was about to be lowered into the grave at Matanzima Cemetery in KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage, the coffin suddenly cracked.
His angry daughter, Nomakhosazana Makeleni (57), said people started screaming and mourners from other funerals came running to see what was happening.
“We are humiliated. My father isn’t resting in peace. His body came out of the coffin. It hit the grave, leaving his legs sticking out.
“He would have hated that he fell on his head and got his suit dirty!”
She said the men ended up putting him back into the broken coffin and covered it with the carpet they were standing on.
Edward’s wife Nonyameko Lucas (67) said she ran away when she saw his body coming out of the coffin.
She said if this had happened to a family member, Edward would have knocked harshly at the funeral parlour’s door.
“I completed three funeral books with Ponana Tini Funeral Directors since 1991, paying R120 a month,” she said.
She said her husband’s body needed to be re-buried, but the funeral directors said it would take two weeks.
She said when they bought the coffin they paid an additional R2 000 for an expensive coffin, but it broke anyway.
“I wanted to give him a decent funeral. Now his body is buried under a carpet.”
Themba Tini, a director at the funeral parlour, told Daily Sun this was the first time they had experienced such negligence.
“I will personally visit the family and apologise,” said Themba. “We depend on the municipality’s approval before we can do an exhumation.”
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