BUTIKI Sepitla disappeared without trace in March, and his sad family was relieved when his naked body turned up last month.
They immediately started to plan for his funeral and decided to visit his ex-wife, Maria Sepitla, in Mokopane, Limpopo, to tell her.
But they were shocked to find her dressed in black! A few days later, they were stumped when they learned that she had also buried Butiki without telling them!
Butiki’s son, Morena (26), said the family was sad when he died but relieved when his body was found.
“However, our relief was shortlived because we didn’t get a chance to bid him farewell.”
Butiki’s sister, Moliehi Manyashe (70), said what happened shocked them to the core.
“Nobody except for the immediate family members knew about his death. We were shocked to find his ex-wife wearing black clothes and sitting on a mattress.”
Moliehi said they asked her how she knew about his death but she only cried and didn’t respond.
“Her behaviour made us uncomfortable and we left. She cannot mourn like that because they were no longer together,” said Moliehi.
She said they had already started to prepare for Butiki’s burial but when they went to the government mortuary they were told that his wife had taken his body.
“She moved his body to another mortuary without consulting his siblings or children,” she said.
Moliehi said they went to court to try and stop Maria from burying him.
“We were told at court to get a lawyer. I was still saving money for a lawyer when we heard that she had buried him last Sunday.”
When contacted, Maria accused Daily Sun of being insensitive.
“I’m still in mourning. I have just buried my husband and I want to move on and heal. If his family has issues with me, why do they go to the newspapers?” she asked.
