- A 43-year-old man identified as Zakhele Cindi has refused to bury his father due to his failure to fulfill his role as a parent since childhood
- He was not only a father who shirked his responsibilities but also denied him the chance to get a national identity card, which has hindered his life
- For Cindi, the unhealed trauma makes her question why she should bear responsibility in death when she felt denied responsibility in life.
In the Pietermaritzburg area, 43-year-old Zakhele Cindi cultivates cabbages, carefully watering them under the morning sun. It is hard work in the kitchen, but for Cindi, it helps her make a living.
Source: Youtube
Without a birth certificate or identity document, formal employment has remained out for a long time. However, it is not only poverty that weighs him down.
Speaking to Newsroom Africa, Cindi revealed that her father’s body has been lying in the government mortuary since the beginning of January, and that she has no intention of going there.
His refusal, he explains, stems from a painful past. Cindi says her father abandoned her in childhood and failed to register her birth.
He was born at home and was never given an official document, he grew up without papers that open schools, jobs and access to basic services.
The lack of identification has determined the fate of his entire adult life. He hoped that reuniting with his father would help him untangle the bureaucratic knots that had kept him on the sidelines.
Instead, she says she faced more misunderstandings, including a history of alleged abuse and a protective order her father once took out against her.
For Cindi, unresolved trauma overwhelms traditional expectations of a child’s role. He questions why he should bear responsibility in death when he felt denied responsibility in life.
“People often try to help me,” he said, “but when they learn that I don’t have documents, they run away.”
In many societies, burial is not only a practical matter but a great cultural obligation. Leaving a body unclaimed can attract social stigma. Yet for Cindi, the issue sounds painfully personal rather than symbolic.
He does not speak out of anger, even resignation. While the body waits in the reservoir, he continues to water the cabbage, water to get what he can, and survive his stalled life for lack of paper.
“I am standing firm,” he said quietly. “I will not take the body because there is nothing I can do with my life at a standstill.”
As the morgue fills up and families grapple with grief compounded by the hardships of life, Cindi’s story reveals a quieter truth: sometimes, the weight of the past is heavier than tradition.
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