THE Modise family can finally find closure.
This after waiting over a year to bury Papanyane Modise (50) who was burnt to death on Friday, 14 October 2022.
The family said they received the death certificate on Thursday, 11 January, allowing them to bury him after such a long wait.
The decased's sister Esther Thubeni (64) told Daily Sun that her brother had died in a shack fire at Klerksdorp, North West and was burnt beyond recognition.
She said the family had to carry out a DNA test to confirm that it was indeed him.
"The results only came back recently, which is why it took so long before he could be buried. It was not easy for us to get a death certificate either, hence the delays,” said Esther.
She said that this has been very emotional for the family.
"After he died in October, I was hopeful that by December all the investigations would be finalised and we could bury my brother. But these things took forever, and we were told there was a backlog in the DNA tests. It's now a year and two months since he died," Esther said.
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She said she had lost all hope and didn't believe that she would finally bury her brother.
"I once prepared his funeral and the food got rotten because I couldn’t bury him without a death certificate. That really broke me, because I didn't work, I am on piecework," Esther said.
She said she was relieved and finally at peace because she could now lay her brother to rest.
"I'm now asking the community to help me with a tent and chairs so that I can bury my brother with dignity and give him a decent send-off," she said.
The funeral service will be held on Saturday, 13 January at Jouberton extension 20 in Klerksdorp.
