The sister of a man who died at an Anglican church mission house in Soweto has lost a High Court bid to have his body exhumed for a forensic post-mortem after raising suspicions that his death was not from natural causes.
The woman approached the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg seeking permission to exhume her brother’s remains, alleging that bruises and scratches found on his body, together with what she described as signs of a struggle at the house, raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding his death.
However, Acting Deputy Judge President Judge Thifhelimbilu Phanuel dismissed the application, ruling that the sister had failed to establish reasonable grounds to suspect that her brother had died from unnatural causes.
Judge Mudau found that the family’s allegations were based largely on observations and speculation, while the evidence presented by the deceased’s wife was supported by professional assessments.
The judge ordered the sister to pay the wife’s legal costs on the ordinary party-and-party scale, including the costs of counsel.
Family raises suspicions after man’s death
The man died on August 17, 2026, at the Holy Cross Anglican Church mission house in Orlando West, Soweto, where he lived with his wife.
His death was certified as being from natural causes by a medical practitioner the following day, and he was buried at Westpark Cemetery on August 25.
According to the sister’s court papers, members of the family became concerned about the circumstances of his death after observing injuries on his body.
The family alleged that there were bruises below his right knee, a mark on his forehead, bruising around his knuckles, scratches on his abdomen and an indentation around his wrist that they believed could have been caused by something being tied around it.
They also claimed that broken plant pots, glasses and crockery at the property suggested that a struggle might have taken place.
The sister further alleged that her sister-in-law gave evasive or inconsistent responses when the deceased was found and that the circumstances surrounding the arrival of emergency medical personnel required further investigation.
The family commissioned a private investigator, who interviewed witnesses and advised that the concerns be reported to the police.
The sister argued that a forensic post-mortem was necessary to establish the actual cause of death, as no forensic pathologist had examined the body before burial.
Wife disputes allegations
The deceased’s wife opposed the application, maintaining that her husband had died of natural causes and that there was no evidence of foul play.
She told the court that her husband had suffered from type 2 diabetes and severe hypertension.
She also presented evidence from a church counsellor who said he had witnessed the deceased fall in his office on August 16, the day before his death. The counsellor reported that the man grazed his right knee and bumped his arm against furniture.
The wife said that, on the night of August 17, church personnel arrived at the house and woke her. She initially tried to wake her husband before realising that he had died.
An emergency care practitioner employed by the City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services subsequently attended the scene and declared the man dead at 8.40pm.
According to the court papers, the emergency care practitioner’s report recorded a head-to-toe examination and noted no injuries.
Police officers also attended the property that evening but did not open an inquest docket or register a criminal case because they observed no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.
A medical practitioner examined the body the following day and certified the cause of death as natural.
In a supporting affidavit, the doctor said the appearance of the deceased’s mouth in photographs submitted by the family could be consistent with a stroke, particularly given his history of hypertension and diabetes.
The wife also denied allegations that she had abused her husband.
The sister had alleged that the deceased had previously sought legal protection because of alleged abuse. However, the court noted that the matter concerned an application for a protection order, not a criminal assault case as initially alleged. The wife said the application had not resulted in a protection order and had subsequently been withdrawn.
Court finds insufficient evidence for exhumation
In considering the application, Mudau said the central question was whether the sister had established reasonable grounds to suspect that the death was caused by something other than natural causes.
The judge found that the sister relied on observations made by family members and photographs taken approximately a week after the death.
The court noted that the sister had not presented expert medical, forensic or pathological evidence showing that the injuries described by the family were inconsistent with a natural death or the accidental fall witnessed by the church counsellor.
Mudau said the evidence presented by the wife included professional assessments by the emergency care practitioner and the doctor who certified the death.
The judge also rejected the sister’s argument that the absence of a forensic post-mortem meant that the cause of death had not been satisfactorily established.
The judgment explained that the Inquests Act does not require a forensic post-mortem in every death. Instead, police are required to investigate when they have reason to believe that a person died from unnatural causes.
The court found that the police had attended the scene and assessed the circumstances using the information available to them at the time.
It added that if the sister had new information giving rise to a reasonable suspicion of an unnatural death, the appropriate course was to report it to the police so that they could consider their statutory obligations.
“The designated authorities conduct the statutory investigation,” the judgment stated, cautioning that a private investigation could not replace the police investigation or determine whether an inquest was warranted.
The judge also found that the sister had not demonstrated that the required permissions for an exhumation could not be obtained, as she had not alleged that she had applied for the relevant consents or that any had been refused.
In addition, no expert evidence had been submitted to establish whether a post-mortem conducted more than a month after the burial would produce reliable findings.
Mudau stressed that exhuming a body was a serious step that should not be authorised lightly, particularly where the allegations were based on speculation and lay opinions.
The court accepted that the wife’s version, supported by professional evidence, was not so far-fetched or untenable that it could not reasonably be true.
It therefore concluded that the sister had failed to make out a case for the relief she sought.
Sister ordered to pay legal costs
Although the sister lost the application, the court rejected the wife’s request for costs on the punitive attorney-and-own-client scale.
Mudau said the sister had brought the application in good faith because she genuinely believed there were grounds to suspect that her brother’s death was not natural.
The judge acknowledged that the sister had suffered the loss of her brother and was grieving, adding that the application was not frivolous or an abuse of court process.
However, the court considered that the wife had been required to oppose the proceedings under significant time pressure and had incurred legal expenses, including the cost of counsel.
The court dismissed the application and ordered the sister to pay the wife’s costs on the ordinary party-and-party scale, including counsel’s fees.
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Sinenhlanhla Masilela
iol.co.za
