NEWLY-WED HUBBY DIES, WIFE DENIED BURIAL RIGHTS

KHOLWANE – A legal battle has  ensued as the family of the late Patrick Musa Hlatshwayo has successfully blocked his wife of 10 days from being granted the honour of burying her husband.

Hlatshwayo was scheduled to be buried last weekend after Judge Zonke Magagula ruled that he be laid to rest at Sigombeni, his parental home. However, Hlobsile Dlamini, his wife, has appealed the decision, leading to the postponement of the funeral. According to Hlatshwayo and Hlobsile’s marriage certificate, they were legally married on December 14, 2024. Hlatshwayo, who had built a home in Kholwane near the Mkhondvo River, passed away just 10 days later on December 24, 2024.

They were married under Eswatini Law and Custom, and according to the marriage certificate seen by Eswatini News, a herd of seven cattle was paid as lobola (bride price). The bride was smeared with red ochre by Zini Hlatshwayo, a distant relative of the deceased. The couple had two minor children, aged four years and younger. Hlatshwayo owned a 16-hectare orchard on his land, producing a variety of fruits, including mangoes, avocados, pawpaws and bananas. He was a known supplier to major retail companies in Eswatini, particularly in Manzini.

Tragic

Since his tragic passing on Christmas Eve 2024, Hlatshwayo’s body has been kept at the Dups Funeral Home in Manzini. Represented by lawyer Sandile Shabangu, the deceased’s brother, Lawrence Telegile Hlatshwayo, argued that Hlobsile’s status as a wife was unknown and questionable to the Hlatshwayo family, as none of them had participated in the teka (customary marriage) ceremony.

In case number 9 of 2025, the applicant, Lawrence Hlatshwayo, requested that the court interdict Hlobsile from burying Patrick and ordered that he be buried at the family graveyard in Sigombeni. Meanwhile, in case number 14 of 2025, Hlobsile sought a court order preventing Lawrence and Fikile Shongwe from interfering with the burial arrangements.

In a judgment delivered on Valentine’s Day, Judge Zonke Magagula ruled that the deceased must be buried at his parental home in Sigombeni.
The judge also ruled that any person registered as a beneficiary of the deceased’s insurance or burial society could access the necessary funds to ensure a dignified burial.

“Given the fact that, according to the marriage certificate, Hlobsile was married for a mere 10 days before Patrick passed away, coupled with the fact that this marriage was unknown to the authorities at Kholwane Royal Kraal and that the deceased and the respondent (Hlobsile) had not established their own matrimonial home, I am of the considered opinion that this is another case in which an exception to the general rule must be applied,” Judge Magagula stated in his ruling.

Inheritance

The ongoing burial dispute highlights broader cultural attitudes towards death and inheritance. In a series of viewpoints from African journalists published by the BBC, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene wrote about her country’s deep-rooted customs surrounding death. In her piece, Ohene reflected on Ghana’s funeral culture, noting, “We love funerals here, and they are a veritable spectacle better experienced than described. The attitude towards the dead and funerals would seem to indicate that a dead Ghanaian is worth far more than a live one.”

She described how, in some cases, families struggle to pay hospital bills for living relatives but readily mobilise resources for elaborate funerals once they pass away. The Hlatshwayo family’s on-going conflicts over burial and inheritance highlight similar complexities in how death is perceived and handled in different cultural contexts. Mzikayise Ntshangase of Mkhwakhweni in the Shiselweni Region remained unburied for five years until Judge Qinisile Mabuza issued a judgment authorising his burial.

He could not be buried at Mkhwakhweni because there were claims that he had been evicted from the area.
The agonising delay in burying Ntshangase subjected his two widows to a five-year long official mourning period.

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