Doves in trouble for giving grieving family empty coffin, secretly burying Harare man in mass grave

Renowned funeral services company Doves Zimbabwe has been accused of tricking a bereaved family by giving them an empty coffin before the company secretly buried the deceased in a mass grave with paupers at Mbudzi.

This was revealed in a letter written by the grieving family’s lawyers, ChimwaMurombe Legal Practice Zenas.

Below is the full letter:

RE: MISREPRESENTATION OF BURIAL OF THE LATE MAXWELL CHIMWAMUROMBE

We refer to the above and we represent Brian Chimwamurombe and his family. Please note our legal interests.

We wish to draw your attention to the fact that your high-powered delegation which included 2 Directors, The Human Resources Executive, the Group Public Relations Manager and the Chaplin approached our office creating a perception of acknowledging your organisation’s negligent, injurious and criminal conduct.

Our clients availed themselves all the way from the rural areas in Avilla and Kanyimo, Nyanga, with the conciliation expectation of a repentant and sympathetic organisation. We cannot say that was achieved.

Your delegation blew hot and cold when asked by our Mr Gombiro whether they accepted the facts amounting to your criminal, negligent and injurious conduct.

For the sake of completeness, we will revisit the facts as we contend as follows:

1. Your organisation presented our clients with a coffin without a corpse for burial.
2. Your organisation realised 3 days after the burial that the body was still in the mortuary.
3. Your organisation kept quiet about the body it had from March 2021 to August 2021 (approximately 6 months)
4. Your organisation in a completely bizarre and potently callous and criminal manner proceeded to conceal evidence by burying our client’s relative without their knowledge and consent with a pauper at Granville cemetery (Ku Mbudzi)
5. In a more shocking and completely unheard-of move, the burial was a ‘mass grave’ type of burial. We are advised that our client’s relative was either buried in the same coffin with the pauper or buried in the same grave. All circumstances the burial being utterly disrespectful and demeaning the Chimwamurombe family. One cannot rule out ritualism.

Your high-powered delegation only accepted the fact that ‘something was wrong’ but not any specific fact. We find that insulting.

As you might be aware, you have reopened the funeral to our client and a swift resolution of the matter will be greatly appreciated.

Our client reserves the right to sue for damages caused by the pain and suffering occasioned by this act. By copy of this letter, we also bring this matter to the attention of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission, Insurance and Pensions Commission and Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs for investigation.