The Thulamela Municipality, the Vhembe Funeral Practitioners Association (VEFPA) and local hospitals in Vhembe joined hands and gave bodies of unknown people, most believed to be foreigners, a decent burial.

The 14 bodies, two children and 12 adults, have been lying at mortuaries for a long time after their next of keen failed to identify them or did not even visit them during their time of illness. Some of the deceased are victims of accidents.

On Monday, Thulamela Mayor Cllr Grace Mahosi, VEFPA executive members and Tshilidzini CEO Mr Mpho Mufamadi were among the prominent members of the community who attended the mass burial at the Mbaleni Cemetery.

Mahosi urged communities not to forget to visit their loved ones when they fall ill and end in hospitals. She also urged families not to shy away from the dead, as death is treated with respect in the African tradition.

"Even though we have few resources, we are very thankful of the support we are getting and the partnership we have forged with VEFPA and the different hospitals in Vhembe, so that we can give the unclaimed dead dignified funerals. The partnership is bearing fruit, as we have managed to bury many people who would otherwise have ended up not getting a proper burial,” she said.

Mr Mpho Mufamadi said bodies had lain unclaimed for a long time in various mortuaries and efforts to trace their families had been fruitless. “Many of them are non-South Africans. We have exhausted all efforts to trace their relatives. We are left with no option but to bury them jointly," said Mufamadi.