Celani Sikhakhane
Eighty-seven people who disappeared in the devastating floods across KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in April are still missing.
Some families who have lost hope of seeing loved ones again want closure, and have agreed to government proposals that they should be declared dead.
KZN premier Sihle Zikalala said that while the search continues for missing people the Department of Justice and Correctional Services are working to declare a presumption of death in some cases.
He said this process would only be used as a last resort to assist the families to find closure, when it is beyond reasonable doubt that “we have no prospects to find the missing persons alive”.
Scrolla.Africa spoke to the Mdlalose family who lost a mother and her four children in the floods.
Slindile Mldlalose, 43, and her children Thobeka, Manelisi, Khule and Mondli were sleeping when the violent water washed through their home and swept them down the uMzinyathi River.
The bodies of Slindile and three of the children were later discovered buried in the sand of the uMzinyathi River. However, their family has been unable to bury them while they wait for DNA tests to confirm their identities. Everybody is sure it’s them, but they are technically still missing and not dead.
One of Slindile’s children was never recovered.
Slindile’s brother, Thokozani Mdlalose, from eNanda north of Durban, said they agree with the proposal to presume the deaths of five dead because it’s been months since their loved ones were lost in the floods.
“The bodies of my sister and her three children were found with missing body parts and we are waiting for DNA test results before we can bury them. One of the kids is still missing,” Mdlalose said.
“We have not yet met as a family since this tragic incident and we don’t know what will happen when we meet. I am scared because we don’t have any closure. We have not yet buried them,” said Thokozani.
Thokozani has been given no indication that their identities will ever be confirmed, and he would rather bury them now than wait.
The four Mdlalose family members are amongst the 23 bodies whose identities are yet to be confirmed.
Over 85,000 people were affected by the floods leaving thousands of people in five districts and the eThekwini Municipality homeless. There have been 461 fatalities.
The R1 billion emergency fund announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the floods has still not been released to assist the victims. The KZN government had previously been accused by the National Treasury of failing to file the proper forms for the funds, which led to the delay.
