Mary Mabore Raseale Petition; with Deputy Minister of Health

Meeting report

The Committee considered a petition from Ms Mary Mabore Raseale, who requested that it assist in retrieving the body of her deceased son as the matter has been dragging on since September 2021.

The Chairperson welcomed petitioners who appeared in front of the Select Committee. The officials present were Mr Madoda Sambatha, North West MEC for Health, Lt Gen SJ Kwena, North West Provincial Commissioner for Police, Lt Gen Tebello Mosikili, Deputy National Police Commissioner: Policing, and Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Deputy Minister of Health.

The Chairperson said Ward 24 of the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality of the North West Province referred the petition to the Select Committee on 18 October 2023. The petition was in the form of a letter and accompanying annexures. She called for intervention on the disappearance of her son, Mr Kenneth Raseale, as the whereabouts of his mortal remains were unknown to the family.

Family’s petition

Ms Patricia Rakgekola, the deceased's sister, outlined the petition's background.

On 13 May 2022, she received a call from her mother, Ms Mary Raseale, that the police had come to the house and informed the family that her brother’s body had been found in the bushes at Rustenburg. The police had identified the remains and taken fingerprints. As per the police’s instruction, her mother sent family members to the mortuary on Monday to identify her brother’s body. Upon arrival, they were told that the body was not ready for viewing and that they should return on Wednesday. On Wednesday, when they went there again, they were told that the person responsible was not around, and the family was advised to return on Friday. On Friday, the family was told another story and that the body could not be handed over.

They complained about the lack of response and communication with the family members. The officials kept giving excuses, and the family had to keep following up with the officials. Because the officials could not identify the correct body among the unidentified ones in the mortuary due to the decomposed state of bodies, the family was advised a DNA test should be done, to which the family agreed. The officials took the DNA from her mother on 28 May and it was not until July that they received a response to their persistent follow-ups with the officials. Eventually, they had to go to the media to shed more light on this most important matter for the family. She pointed out the contradictory behaviour of officials when they were on screen and off-screen. On TV, those officials made a lot of promises; in reality, nobody attempted to even reach the family.

The family urged the Select Committee to intervene and advise on what the family should do because this was their last resort to get the body.

The family also informed the Committee that correspondence between the officials and the family began two weeks ago, after the family had approached Parliament.

Ms Mary Raseale, mother of the deceased, informed the Committee of the lengths that the family members had gone to in terms of funeral arrangements and for the friends and family of the deceased to pay their last respects. She reiterated her daughter's points about the inconvenience and suffering that family members had endured. She told the Committee that the family felt defeated and was desperate to recover the remains of her son.

See attached petition

Briefing by the South African Police Service

Lt Gen SJ Kwena, North West Provincial Commissioner, told the Committee that on 21 September 2021, the body of an unknown man was discovered in the bushes at the Lerome South Village, in Mogwase. It was alleged that the deceased had committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. However, no suicide note was found. The body was transported to the Phokeng Forensic Mortuary, which fell under the Department of Health. On 1 October 2021, the North West MEC for Health directed that Phokeng Forensic Mortuary be temporarily closed, due to infrastructure challenges. This resulted in the body being transferred to the Brits Government Mortuary, on 21 October 2021. It was alleged by the senior person at the Brits mortuary that the body was placed in a cold room without being registered in the death register at the mortuary.

On 9 November 2021, fingerprints were taken from the unidentified body. On 24 November 2021, they were identified as being those of Mr Gontse Kenneth Raseale, who had previously been found guilty of assault. 

On 5 May 2022, the SAPS investigating officer notified the family of the fingerprint results. On 8 May 2022, the family went to the Brits Government Mortuary, to confirm the identity of the body. Although the body was in a state of decomposition, the brother managed to identify the deceased, based on various items found on the body.

The body was not released, as the District Pathologist wanted DNA to be taken. The Department of Health (DoH) visited the family and took DNA samples from the deceased's mother, brother and sister. The results were received on 28 July 2022. They came back negative, meaning the samples taken should have been checked on ten other unidentified bodies. 

On 13 November 2023, at a meeting between the SAPS and the DoH forensic pathologist, a decision was made that there should be exhumation and reburial of persons who were buried as paupers during the relevant timeframe. The DoH informed the family of the possibility that another DNA test could be done after exhumation, to which they all agreed, as they sought closure. On 14 November 2023, a SAPS delegation visited the Rustenburg Magistrates Court, for an exhumation application. The Senior State Prosecutor, from Rustenburg, and the Magistrate, from the Tlhabane Magistrates Court, advised the SAPS that there was no need for the SAPS to apply for exhumation. However, the DoH should apply for reburial, as the mishap was on their side. The DoH Forensic Pathology Services and the SAPS worked together to expedite the process to ensure the family got closure.

General Kwena added that subsequently, a body alleged to be that of Kenneth Raseale was found at the Brits Government Mortuary. The body could not be released until there was confirmation of the DNA. Thus, the SAPS was uncertain about when the body could be handed over to the family.

See attached presentation

Briefing by the Department of Health

Mr Madoda Sambatha, North West MEC for Health, told the Committee that inconclusive DNA results would result in concerning consequences such as the person being buried as a pauper.

He quoted two instances. The first was a case that he had intervened in 20 years ago. Although the wife of that deceased person had identified the body through the clothes that he had worn, the person was buried as a pauper as a result of an inconclusive DNA test. The second was a more recent case when a deceased person in Vryburg was in possession of a hospital card. The hospital confirmed the identity of the deceased. However, due to an inconclusive DNA sample, the body had to be buried as a pauper.

The Department could not release the body without a written affidavit from the SAPS. The SAPS had provided a letter concerning the burial of the body. Documentation had been given to the Municipality and once permission was obtained, the Department would inform the family.

See attached presentation

Discussion

Ms A Maleka (ANC, Mpumalanga) asked why there was a delay in taking fingerprints from the time the body was discovered on 21 September until 9 November when the prints were taken. What measures had been put in place to ensure that this would not happen again?

The body was identified on 24 November 2021 and the family was only informed on 5 May 2022. What steps had the SAPS taken to keep the family informed? Who would compensate the family for the re-incurred funeral cost? She needed clarity on why the SAPS lost a DNA sample.

Mr R Badenhorst (DA, Western Cape) expressed his condolences to the family and was glad to hear that the body had been identified.

Procedurally, in terms of Rule 234 of the National Council of Province (NCOP) which made provision for the tabling of petitions, he was uncertain if this petition had ended up before the correct Committee. In his opinion, it should have been before the Select Committee on Petitions.

He shared Ms Maleka’s sentiments about the delay in communication with the family and asked the SAPS to provide an explanation.

He asked the officials to explain the distinction between a forensic mortuary and a private mortuary,

The Chairperson responded that Mr Badenhorst’s first question should have been dealt with internally.

Mr T Dodovu (ANC, North West) asked the SAPS and DoH to identify the systemic errors that caused the delays of more than two years. 

Ms M Bartlett (ANC, Northern Cape) recommended that the SAPS should give the family a timeframe for bringing the matter to a closure. She suggested that perhaps within two or three days, the family members should contact the Committee secretariat to update the Committee on the progress of the matter.

Mr K Motsamai (EFF, Gauteng) urged that the family be assisted given that the process had been so prolonged. He could relate to their experience as he knew of a similar case.

Mr C Smit (DA, North West) commented that it was unacceptable and a disgrace that the matter should be taking so long. The state should apologise to the family for what had happened. The family could have even gone for litigation to claim damages against the state. He urged that the matter be taken further and that the people who were responsible should be held accountable.

He was ashamed that this should have happened in the first place. It should not be tolerated that such cases were only resolved when members of the public appealed for the support of Parliament. It should not happen that ordinary citizens were told that the body disappeared but miraculously appeared just before the case got to Parliament.

The Chairperson urged the Department to look at what was wrong in this entire process. As an oversight body, it needed to ensure that things were done correctly. She asked the SAPS if they would need support from Parliament to introduce new legislation.

She asked the Department about the DNA sample that was taken from a family member in May 2022 and which came back negative. That meant that the sample would have been used to test all unknown bodies. She asked for more clarity on the matter.

She said she was confused about the exhumation process. What was being exhumed? What was going on?

The Chairperson noted the statement that the unidentified body had been transferred from Phokeng Forensic Mortuary to Brits Government Mortuary. It was alleged by a senior person at the Brits Mortuary that the body had been placed in a cold room without being registered. She needed clarity on the matter and emphasised the importance of implementing consequence management measures against those who were responsible.

After the cause of death had been identified and an autopsy was done, had the SAPS done the family the courtesy of informing them? 

Now that the body has been identified, what would the process be from now on and when would the family receive the remains of the deceased?

DoH response

MEC Sambatha said there was a conundrum in the legislative requirements. Although the DoH recognised the family's right to bury the body, the complication was that the SAPS was required by legislation to refuse to hand over a body when there was an inconclusive DNA outcome.

He said he would investigate the non-registration of the body and implement consequence management measures accordingly.

The only obstacle to the family retrieving the body was the legislation. He urged the Committee to help relieve the pressure on the family.

SAPS response

Lt Gen Kwena noted that two departments, police and health, were involved in this issue. Instead of looking for someone to blame, they should look for solutions to give the family closure on this prolonged matter.

He explained the roles which the two departments played in dealing with cases of suicide. Once SAPS received a body where the cause of death was suicide, the SAPS would call the pathology services at the DoH. From then on, the DoH was completely in charge of the remaining steps, except for DNA identification and the taking of fingerprints.

The fingerprints of the deceased were taken in November 2021 and were finalised not long after that. What prolonged the process was the handover to the SAPS investigating officer. That process only happened in May 2022.

He noted that some Members seemed to misunderstand the DNA matter. No DNA sample was lost. The DNA test from the mother came back negative. That was why there had to be a second round of DNA testing to get a conclusive outcome. Furthermore, there were ten unidentified bodies, which was why the Department had to start the examination process to bring the matter to a conclusive end.

He replied to Mr Dodovu that the SAPS should have kept the family in the loop every step of the way, which they had failed to do.

He replied to Mr Motsamai that there were protocols to be followed in terms of dealing with bodies. As a provincial police commissioner, he could not give instructions to the DoH before the body was identified with conclusive evidence.

He clarified to the Chairperson that there was no dispute over the identification of the body as the deceased’s brother had identified the body through non-biological means. For the purpose of certainty, the DNA test had to be matched against family members. If there had been disputes, the DNA of all the unidentified bodies in that mortuary would have been taken.

He could not give a clear indication of the timeline of when the family would be able to receive the body. The SAPS could request the authority responsible for the DNA testing to expedite the matter.

Lt Gen Mosikili apologised to the family on behalf of the SAPS  for what she termed an unprecedented process and reiterated that the provincial commissioner had already acknowledged the failure of responsibility by the SAPS. The SAPS should have communicated with the affected family at least on a monthly basis. She guaranteed that the issue would be addressed and would not be repeated. She committed that the DNA testing would be done within seven days. She guaranteed that consequence management measures would be taken against transgressors and that information would be regularly shared with the affected family.

Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Deputy Minister of Health, said the national Department’s role was to provide policy guidelines. He realised now that certain weaknesses in the system required strengthening. He was trained as a forensic pathologist. During parliamentary constituency work doing  postmortems, he realised that certain policies were not being adhered to. He pointed out that the pathology service had not moved to the health department until 2007. There were certain processes in which the SAPS was still involved because of criminal investigations. Both departments always worked collaboratively until the completion of cases. In the DoH itself, there had been a national committee on pathology on which every province was represented. The Minister would reestablish this committee in the next month.

Further discussion

Mr Badenhorst sought clarity on the time lapses. The fingerprint results were obtained on 24 November. Why did the investigating officer only receive that outcome five months later and not within the same month?

Lt Gen Kwena could not explain why it took five months for there to be communication between the pathology service in Pretoria and the investigating officer. He recommended that the Committee summon the head of the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) to explain the delay. The fingerprints were taken at the provincial level but were sent to a national division for identification purposes.

The Chairperson remarked that there were important lessons to be learned from this process. On behalf of the Select Committee, she sent condolences to the family.

She recommended that both departments review the procedural and systemic issues to address the matter and ensure that such an incident would not occur again.

The meeting was adjourned.