Nearly two years after the death of their relative, a Harare family is yet to receive a funeral payout from the deceased’s chosen funeral scheme. Numerous attempts by the family to get the money from Shosha Funeral Scheme and Undertaker have all been futile.
Nolusindiso Kamana says her sister, Nokwanda Mbheka, died on 25 October 2023 after a short illness.
At the time she was a member of the Shosha Funeral, Scheme & Undertaker in Town Two. She said they reached out to the manager of the scheme to no avail. She claims the calls went unanswered until they decided to phone their mother in Eastern Cape to inform her about their challenge.
She said her mother advised them to contact Amazizi Funerals in Philippi where the deceased was also registered as the beneficiary.
“My sister told me everything about her undertaker while she was alive and who to call if she died. After she passed away we contacted the number but the owner did not answer. Her body was lying there to be collected. We informed our mother who was in Eastern Cape and she told us to call Amazizi Funeral to come and take the body which they did,” explained Kamana.
She said the owner of Shosha Funeral arrived later that day but the body was already taken by Amazizi Funeral. She said they asked him to go and fetch the body from Amazizi but he allegedly refused citing that he was going to pay for the coffin.
He also reportedly promised to give the family R15 000. “We agreed and he even asked for our bank account which we gave before we buried our sister. We waited until the burial. After the funeral we kept on reminding him and he vowed to pay it,” she said, adding that he even took her booklet that she used for payments. “We decided not to open a case with the police because we knew it was not going to be investigated,” she explained.
Kamana said last month she was accompanying her friend to a funeral service in Town Two when she saw the owner of the scheme. She said she asked the bereaved family whether they were paid in full by the scheme and they confirmed everything.
Kamana said she again reached out to the owner after the funeral.
City Vision reached out to Shosha Funeral, Scheme & Undertaker on Tuesday 10 June.
A man, who confirmed that he is the undertaker’s owner but refused to give us his full name and surname, admitted he knew Kamana, “I know Kamana. I know her sister was in my burial society. When her sister died, I went to her family, and I told them that she was not qualified to be buried by us because she didn’t pay the full tickets. But, because I didn’t want my name to be in the public for the wrong reasons, I agreed that I’m going to pay back the money that she already paid,” he said.
When the City Vision asked him how much he was going to pay, he said R 3 000. He claimed that the deceased was not up to date with her payments. He denied claims that he promised to pay for a coffin and give the family R15 000.
He was also adamant that he never ran away from the family.
“I will pay back the R3 000 at the end of June because I don’t have it now,” he said.
A quick City Vision check on hellopeter.com showed the scheme failed to pay in the past. “My brother passed away last year 18 November 2021 and I handed my claim on the 22nd of November 2021 they have’nt paid my claim until today instead Mr Shosha keeps on giving me
excuses,” wrote an unhappy customer Nomvuyiseko G.
