A URGENT High Court application brought earlier this month by a woman to compel the Clare Estate Umgeni Hindu Crematorium to release the ashes of a businessman, and issue a certificate confirming that he was cremated in April 2020 was unsuccessful.
Nesneen Ahmed, 38, who had applied to the Pietermaritzburg High Court, said the basis for the application was to “finalise prayers and scatter the ashes” of her 26-year-old deceased partner Ha San Kazi.
But the Clare Estate Umgeni Hindu Crematorium, represented by attorney Anand Nepaul, were adamant that Kazi was never cremated at their facility.
One of the issues raised in the court battle between Ahmed, represented by attorney Meryl Moonsamy, and the crematorium, was a R30 million life cover with insurer Momentum Life.
Ahmed was entitled to 50% of it as she was listed as a beneficiary of Kazi’s estate.
Therefore, she also challenged Momentum, in a separate court matter, over their failure to pay out on the policy.
Judge Carol Sibiya handled Ahmed’s tussle with the crematorium.
Moonsamy opted to withdraw the urgent application during proceedings last week, after Nepaul lodged a strike out application and raised more than 20 objectionable issues with Ahmed’s urgent application .
Judge Sibiya found in favour of respondents.
The applicants requested the matter be referred to oral evidence thereafter, which Nepaul opposed, and Moonsamy eventually withdrew their application.
In the urgent application, Ahmed claimed Kazi passed away on April 2, 2020 and his body was moved from the RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth by Clive Mannie Best from a local funeral parlour, and eventually for cremation to Clare Estate, two days later.
Ahmed, who was pregnant at the time, was apparently told by Best to return the next day to fetch the ashes.
She was then informed by Best that the manager on duty at the crematorium at the time (Gopee) had mislaid the paperwork and would inform her when the cremation certificate and ashes would be available.
Months had passed when Best informed her that Gopee had died, but promised to still assist her.
In February this year, she contacted her friend Veronica Rathilal to help obtain the ashes and any document to confirm the cremation.
Rathilal also reported that Best made numerous empty promises.
While at the crematorium for the funeral of a relative Rathilal spoke to a manager, Karam Sookhay, about Ahmed’s matter and he offered to assist.
Rathilal claimed that Sookhay promised to provide the certification if Kazi’s ashes were found.
After more interaction with the crematorium’s staff, Ahmed and Rathilal visited the facility on April 20.
Ahmed cried and begged two members of staff to search once more for Kazi’s ashes.
After about 20 minutes, one of them returned with a small packet of ashes with HS Kazi, Shalom, Secunda 04-04-20 written on a tag.
The tag was allegedly written by another staff member who had since passed on and Sookhay was supposed to arrange for a letter confirming Kazi was cremated at Clare Estate.
Rathilal was then told that the trustees would not furnish a confirmation because the tag details did not match their records.
After consulting with members of Sydenham SAPS, Ahmed was advised to pursue the said urgent application.
Rathilal confirmed a similar version of events in a supporting affidavit.
Pradeep Ramlall, chairman of the crematorium, denied the allegations made by the applicant and asked that the matter be dismissed.
Ramlall said there were certain requisite documents for cremations to be conducted.
They kept a “Death Register”, which was a continuous chronological record of deaths, and numbered sequentially (order numbers).
Order numbers were issued to representatives of dead persons when cremation bookings were done.
He said Kazi’s name did not appear in their records for April 4, 2020 and the cremation certificate that the applicant produced was fraudulent.
The order number on the certificate in question was for cremation of a female in November 1975.
Ramlall noted the underweight quantity of ashes purportedly that of Kazi and that his death was the subject of Ahmed and others suing Momentum for R30 million.
He found it improbable that Kazi, of the Muslim faith, would have been cremated and that it was odd that Ahmed waited three years to pursue legal action to retrieve the ashes.
Ramlall stated that Gopee, who died in January 2021, was in Dubai from March 13, 2020 and only returned in July that year because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Regarding the Momentum matter, Ramlal said he found that a medical doctor produced an affidavit refuting attending to Kazi, and another doctor, who certified him dead was presently being charged for issuing two forged death certificates.
Ramlall said they had an affidavit from Best who denied taking the body to the crematorium and the funeral parlour in question also denied any involvement.
He said Rathilal was told that the cremation certificate she handed to one of their employees was “fake” and she claimed to have received it from Best.
Ramlall asked why was Kazi's place of residence was listed as Secunda on the tag attached to the packet of ashes when his last place of residence was Verulam? Ramalall also questioned why was the Chatsworth address recorded on his death notice.
Therefore, disputed that his staff would have recorded Secunda on the tag.
Ramlall said when they approached the SAPS to make a report, they were told that criminal charges were already opened.
He challenged Ahmed to produce the original cremation certificate that they hand to clients.
“I doubt she will be able to do so because such a document doesn’t exist and she has already produced a forged certificate.”
Ramlall also denied that Karam or Sookhay promised a cremation certificate, but provided assistance.
In response, Ahmed denied that her affidavits were untrue and responded that Ramlall’s affidavit contained untruths.
Included in the court documents was a notice from the National Prosecuting Authority confirming that Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) were currently investigating fraud allegations linked to the death of Kazi, and Momentum was the complainant.
Moonsamy stated that they have since engaged a private security company to investigate and proceed further and that Rathilal did not act in her professional capacity as a lawyer, but assisted Ahmed.
“We are dealing with the various issues via other legal channels, one of which is criminal charges against major role-players within the crematorium,” she said.
Nepaul said: “Smoke, mirrors and fiction aside, any complaint will be legally dealt with.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE