Grieving Family Brings Relative’s Corpse to Bank After Being Asked for Proof of Death

A family in Melville, KwaDukuza, took an extreme step after being repeatedly asked for proof of death by their bank, bringing their deceased relative’s body to the branch in a desperate bid to access funeral funds.

The Maliwa family said Elizabeth Maliwa, who had been battling a long illness, passed away, leaving them to handle burial arrangements. When they approached Capitec Bank to claim funeral funds, they presented a valid death certificate. However, the family claims the bank continued requesting additional proof, delaying access to the money needed for Elizabeth’s funeral.

Faced with mounting mortuary fees and no way to proceed, the family decided to remove Elizabeth’s body from the mortuary. Over the following days, as summer temperatures rose above 30°C, the body began to deteriorate. Feeling they had exhausted all options, the family made the heartbreaking decision to bring the remains to the bank branch.

A video of the incident quickly circulated online, showing the family leaving the covered body inside the branch. Christinia Maliwa, Elizabeth’s daughter, explained that the decision was made out of sheer desperation.

“We were grieving and just needed funds for the funeral, but the bank kept asking for more proof,” she said. “It felt like we had no other choice.”

After discovering the body, the bank staff verified the death, processed the claim, and released the funds while the family remained inside the branch. However, the situation escalated when police officers arrived as the family prepared to leave. Christinia’s sisters were asked to accompany the officers, only to be arrested for allegedly violating a corpse. Elizabeth’s body was taken to the police mortuary, and the sisters were released the following day.

When the family later collected the remains, they were shocked to find the body in an advanced state of decomposition. To avoid further trauma, they chose to transport Elizabeth’s body directly from the mortuary to the cemetery without additional viewing.

The Maliwa family said the ordeal compounded their grief, turning what should have been a dignified farewell into a painful struggle with bureaucracy and legal issues.

“We lost her once,” Christinia said. “But the complications that followed made it feel like we lost her all over again.”