There were almost 3,200 unclaimed bodies in South Africa’s 130 mortuaries in August 2024, according to data released by the national department of health.

Bodies are stored at mortuaries if they are not identified or no one has come forward to claim them for burial or cremation.

KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape together account for almost two-thirds of the unclaimed bodies. KwaZulu-Natal mortuaries have nearly half (1,527) of the bodies.

Although pauper burials, paid for by the municipality, are required to be conducted after 30 days if the bodies remain unidentified, many bodies have been in storage for months. Some have been stored for as long as three years.

In KZN, many of the unclaimed bodies have not been released because of outstanding DNA results or further investigations. The Eastern Cape records similar difficulties, along with insufficient budgets and space for pauper burials.