A Cape Town family who run a funeral company has pleaded with the South African government for assistance after an undertaker transporting bodies has been detained in Mozambique on suspicion of being a drug mule.
The Mozambique police have accused Patrick Lunguza, 53, of hiding the drugs inside the five bodies he was transporting to Malawi. He also faces additional charges of assisting illegal immigrants as four family members of the deceased, travelling with him, had expired passports.
Lunguza, from Hillview and an undertaker for more than 25 years, has been detained at a police station in Tete, Mozambique, since February 24.
His wife, Lindi Kwedala, said: “I am hardly sleeping or eating.” She said the relatives of the deceased asked to make the trip to Malawi for cultural purposes.
Kwedala said Lunguza was under the impression that the passengers were in possession of valid passports.
When Lunguza arrived in Mozambique, he was stopped by police. The bodies were stored inside a trailer and the four passengers were in the vehicle with him.
“Why did they let the persons whose documentation was not in order go and keep my husband inside a prison in a foreign country where he cannot understand the language?
“All we know is he is appearing in court this week. I was at the (Mozambique) consulate in Cape Town, and they said they cannot help me.”
An email from the Department of International Relations Co-operation to Lunguza’s family said he was being detained, awaiting his next court appearance for a bail application.
Lunguza had been transporting the five bodies from Cape Town to Malawi along with the deceased’s four Malawian relatives.
Pastor Kenny Mc Dillon, the co-ordinator of the Undertakers United Front in the Western Cape, said all bodies for repatriation needed to be accompanied by a certificate which showed the cause of death was not Covid-19. This certificate was obtained from a hospital.
The bodies were all deemed Covid19-free and accompanied by the necessary documentation, said Mc Dillon.
He added Lunguza had completed several trips to Mozambique and Malawi, so he made sure he had the correct documentation for the bodies to cross the border.
A co-driver, Jerry Mahola, was a South African citizen. He and Lunguza were in possession of valid passports. Mahola has since returned to South Africa.
But the Malawian nationals were in possession of passports that had already expired.
Cristovalo Gemo, the consul-general of the Republic of Mozambique in Cape Town, said they had been informed about Lunguza’s case and had written a letter to their government, in Mozambique, to determine what had happened.
Gemo said South Africans need a valid passport to enter Mozambique and could only stay in the country for up to a month for a holiday. They also needed to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test.
He added South Africa and Mozambique had a visa-free agreement for a holiday stay for up to a month. But a visa was required for work or business.
“We have spoken to Mr Lunguza’s family and advised them to approach the South African High Commission in Mozambique as we could only assist those having trouble in South Africa.
“We have written a letter to our government to find out what happened.”
Ministry of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) told the Weekend Argus they had been aware of the case and that the High Commission in Mozambique was monitoring it.
Dirco spokesperson, Lunga Ngqengelele, said: “Dirco is aware of the arrest. Our high commission in Mozambique is rendering consular assistance to the detainee… this includes facilitating legal representation, working in consultation with the detainee’s employer.”
Lunguza is part of the Undertakers United Front in the Western Cape.
The organization, along with the South African Funeral Directors, are rallying to get Lunguza home. They have handed a memorandum to the Mozambique Consulate in Cape Town.
Strict lockdown regulations, when borders and airports were closed, meant undertakers were unable to fly bodies to their home countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Instead, undertakers were forced to use road transport and follow protocols of embalming the corpse and placing it inside a wooden coffin with plastic sheeting and lining.
Mc Dillon said he was contacted by Lunguza just moments before he was formally detained, detailing that police suspected he was carrying drugs. “He had taken a co-driver with him, who lives in Johannesburg.
“When they arrived in Mozambique, he was stopped by police and he was jovial about the whole issue thinking he would be sent on his way as they didn’t find anything of course.
“The police suspected they were carrying drugs, hidden inside the bodies and the bodies were was screened and nothing was found. The bodies were given to the respective families.”
But the hiccup came when police investigated the paperwork of the passengers.
“The police saw that their paperwork was not in order (passports expired) and let them go and detained him and took away his cellphone and wallet,” explained Mc Dillon.
-Weekend Argus
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