The Northern Cape Department of Health say they are battling with the number of unclaimed bodies that are piling up in State mortuaries.

The department says mortuaries in both Kimberley and Hartswater have large number of unclaimed bodies and that is creating challenges with storage space.

Provincial Health MEC Maruping Lekwene says there is close to 100 unclaimed bodies in provincial facilities, with some being there for five months already.

In August 2024, South Africa’s State mortuaries held over 3 000 unclaimed bodies.

“The problem is that these bodies are unclaimed and it’s becoming a problem because we can’t keep them forever, because as more people come, we won’t have space to accommodate them. So, we are busy, we have engaged with SAPS because SAPS needs to finalise their investigations to check who are these bodies.” - SABC NEWS