Hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Zimbabwean that the situation was out of control as some bodies had remained unclaimed for a long time. Due to high costs of running a funeral in the town, some relatives are shunning the bodies of their beloved ones making the situation difficult for hospital authorities, said the official. Bereaved families interviewed at the hospital said they were being forced to ferry the bodies of their relatives either to Marondera or St Theresa Mission which is expensive.
Our relatives passed away and we had no choice to go to Marondera mortuary for the service. Its expensive to hire private morgue, said Mukuwapasi of Vhengere Township. Local private morgue operators were charging as much as US$120 per night. Impoverished villagers who rely on Rusape hospital have been forced to resort to traditional methods of preserving the corpses in wet sand before burial.