The burial of Siva Moodley, a South African pastor who passed away on 14 August 2021, took place on 16 March 2023 after almost two years.
This was because his immediate family believed that he would be resurrected and did not instruct for his burial or cremation.
His body was kept at a mortuary until a court order was obtained by the funeral home to bury him. The burial was conducted in a dignified manner by a pastor and was attended by 40-50 people, including his siblings and extended family. However, his wife and two adult children were not present.
Martin’s Funerals Fourways and Roodepoort had to approach the court for an order because Moodley’s immediate family did not claim his body for almost 600 days after his death.
The funeral home made numerous attempts to contact his wife and children to obtain instructions, but to no avail. In February, the Gauteng High Court granted an order authorizing the sheriff of the court to sign all necessary documents for Moodley’s cremation.
This order was suspended for a month so that it could be served to Moodley’s immediate family. However, no response was received from his wife after the order was granted.
Moodley’s family believed that he could be resurrected, and this notion appeared to align with their religious beliefs.
According to Moodley’s website, his ministry has seen radical healings like blind eyes and deaf ears opening, legs growing, and cancers/tumours disappearing.
The website also claims that in 2003, Caid Bailey became the first person raised from the dead at Moodley’s meetings. Although the funeral home did not want to infringe on people’s religious beliefs, they had to follow the law in terms of health regulations.
