Malawians in diaspora repatriate dead body
Malawians in diaspora have joined hands through Facebook to raise funds and repatriate the body of their 20-year-old compatriot who was killed in South Africa.
Through the initiative, R13 382.28 (about K520 000) was raised to bring back home the body of Christopher James who was killed in Cape Town on August 10 after his body stayed for almost two weeks in a mortuary unclaimed.
According to Mercy Kalavina, a Malawian living in South Africa who posted on Facebook about the inability by the boy’s family to bring his body for burial in Malawi, the deceased was killed when he was trying to pacify two friends who were fighting.
“The late Christopher was living with his friends in Capricon, Cape Town and on the eve of August 10, two of his friends started fighting across the road as he was sleeping and he decided to go and check what was happening.
“The two continued fighting for and one of them dropped his shirt and when Christopher went down to pick the shirt; he got stabbed in the neck by a knife. Paramedics tried to save his life but he had already passed away on the spot,” said Kalavina.
She said she got to know of the family’s need for assistance after Christopher’s cousin came to her church to seek help for burial as his family could not even afford to pay for his funeral in South Africa.
According to Kalavina, several Malawians from Canada, USA, UK and South Africa made donations towards the repatriation of Christopher’s body to Malawi.
