The coffin that allegedly contained bricks during the funeral of the late Dr Thamsanqa Nkonyane of the eNyonini Church in Zion.
THE body of the late Dr Thamsanqa Nkonyane, president of the Enyonini Mission Church, will be exhumed.
This follows a Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling on Thursday, 18 June, granting the Nkonyane family permission to exhume his remains.
The family’s legal battle began after claims that the coffin presented at Nkonyane’s funeral earlier in June had bricks inside instead of his body.
Family attorney Ntokozo Mkhabela confirmed the court’s decision, and the church welcomed the ruling, which gives the family the right to bury him properly.
The order states that the president should be exhumed so his family can conduct a rightful burial.
Drama unfolded at what was meant to be a dignified send-off, as the family demanded answers after allegedly finding building blocks inside the coffin they believed had their brother’s body.
Dr Nkonyane died on Sunday, 24 May 2026, at his home in eThekwini, where he had reportedly lived with his alleged lover for 21 years while still legally married.
His family arrived at his funeral in Newcastle, KZN on Saturday, 6 June 2026, with a court interdict.
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They stopped the funeral and, upon opening the coffin, allegedly found building blocks instead of his body.
After this discovery, the family searched for his remains and allegedly found his body buried in a grave within the church mission premises in Newcastle on Monday, 8 June 2026.
His sister reported that the body was found buried behind the mission house.
KZN police spokesman Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that Osizweni cops are investigating a case of fraud after a funeral was arranged to bury building blocks inside a coffin instead of a corpse.
Icebolethu Group’s public relations officer Sinawo Samandla stated that the company is aware of the concerns and public discussion regarding the funeral service, and that the burial was handled with dignity, as with all their services.
“We adhered to all our processes and procedures according to our service standards and the industry’s legal framework. We would like to state the following: the body is not missing. The family buried the body as per their preference,” he said.