FOR many years, residents have struggled to trace and identify the bodies of their loved ones while they lay to rot in government mortuaries.
This will be a thing of the past as the Limpopo Health Department’s Forensic Pathology Unit has received a digital fingerprint system.
The system was received from the Center for Public Service Innovation and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Pietersburg Hospital in Polokwane.
The system will address unclaimed and unidentified bodies' challenges in the province. Currently, Limpopo has 344 unclaimed and unidentified bodies in government mortuaries, with Capricorn District being the highest with 98 bodies, followed by Vhembe District with 81.
MEC Phophi Ramathuba said they sometimes get overwhelmed by the backlogs of unclaimed and identified bodies at our forensic pathology unit.
“One of the problems we are facing is the paupers’ funerals, and most municipalities don’t have budgets for these funerals. They are more worried about service delivery such as water rather than paupers’ funerals,” she said.
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Ramathuba said they will also use the device on people coming to identify bodies to verify their identities.
“As part of an effort to address this challenge and ensure that families can give their loved ones dignified send-off, we had to introduce the digital fingerprint system to improve the quality of fingerprints collected and immediate identification of the deceased," she said.
Digital Fingerprint System is a method of identification using the impressions made by the minute ridge formation or patterns found on the fingertips.
It is able to assess the quality of the match, decreasing possible errors and mistakes in identifying the bodies.
The system uses biometrics technology and has access to the Home Affairs Department, South African Police Service, and National Credit Bureaus database to identify deceased bodies.
She said one of the busiest units in their department is forensics.
“There is no one who doesn’t want to bury their loved ones, and the only way to get closure is when you see the remains of your loved ones. So, this device will assist us in doing that,” said Ramathuba.
