Siva Moodley, a pastor at a center in South Africa, died on August 15, 2021, after falling ill. However, instead of preparing for his funeral, his family simply left his body in a morgue awaiting his resurrection. His wife and other family members came to the morgue to pray for his return. But they stopped coming a few months after his death and refused to give their consent for Maudley to be buried or cremated, and to make matters worse, they refused to acknowledge the death of the priest within the centre, and held services in his place until the day he decided to come back to life.

Legal action against the family

As the months passed and Siva Moodley’s body remained in the morgue, contacts began with the family in an attempt to obtain their consent to bury or cremate the bodies, because failure to dispose of the body in a timely manner poses serious health and environmental risks, and despite that the family did not agree and soon the family of the deceased priest stopped Responding completely to these calls, the only option available to the morgue was to take legal action against the family.

The morgue official said, “I can’t make the decision to bury him or cremate him on my own. It’s a civil matter. He has to come from his family but they don’t say anything. He was a famous man and he didn’t deserve this. I hope the court can offer some relief.”

Court documents showed that Jessie, Saif Moodley’s widow, explained her family’s reluctance to agree to the priest’s funeral by claiming to have a vision of him coming back to life. Local authorities about the health risks posed by the body, a court in Johannesburg authorized the compulsory burial or cremation of the body, according to the website. odditycentral.

The court’s decision was suspended for a month until it could be presented to the family. The funeral home made it clear that they did not want to infringe on anyone’s religious freedom, but they also had to adhere to health regulations.

The body was buried two years later

On March 16, Siva Moodley’s body was finally buried in Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, in the presence of his siblings and family. His wife and two children did not attend the ceremony, and South African media reported that they continue to lead the center that the pastor was managing.