Betty Moleya
Pretoria - The family of Thabang Mole is seeking answers for his untimely death at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria after he died mysteriously last year.
This after an inquest case was opened at Pretoria Central police station the day after his death on November 29.
Mole’s aunt Doreen Kekana had been taking care of Mole, who was arrested after helping a friend move a stolen fridge, after his mother died in 2016.
He was awaiting trial, she said, and since his death they have been trying to get the post-mortem results to get closure. At the weekend she said the stress of it all has caused her high blood pressure, among other illnesses.
“We were informed of Thabang’s passing and we were ordered to come to the prison on Monday, November 30, 2020, at 10am.
“On arrival at the prison, we were referred to the sister in charge of the prison hospital. She told us that Thabang was brought to the prison hospital already dead.
“When we requested to see his body, we were told it had already been moved to a private mortuary in Letlhabile. When we asked why he was not at the government mortuary because he died in a state facility, we were told that the prison has a contract with the mortuary.
“When the body was brought to us, we realised that he had vomited through his nostrils and mouth. The vomit was bloody. His tummy was swollen,” said Kekana.
The family then requested that the 29-year-old’s body be moved to a government mortuary for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
Efforts to get answers from the correctional facility by the Pretoria News failed, but a death certificate seen by the newspaper indicated the cause of death was under investigation by a doctor from the Forensic Pathology office.
The body was eventually released for burial on December 4, after which the the desperate family was told to expect a report within six months.
Kekana said she has visited the forensic pathology offices in Pretoria several times since the end of May, trying to get the report, only to be told on her last visit that the reports could only be released to the investigating officer handling the case.
“We are still waiting.”
Pretoria News