Mapaballo Borotho

The Department of Health in Gauteng has strongly refuted allegations that unclaimed dead bodies are being left in limbo at the Helene Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
The department released a statement in response to claims that corpses remained unprocessed at the hospital’s mortuary due to a shortage of printer cartridges.
Gauteng Health spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, acknowledged that the facility experienced challenges related to printing services, which affected the turnaround time for processing cases at the hospital mortuary between 17 June and 23 June 2025.
However, the facility management successfully implemented contingency measures, resulting in the assistance of five pending cases on 24 June 2025.
“Contrary to the sensationalised report, the facility’s mortuary currently has only one body of a patient who was declared dead on arrival on Wednesday, 25 June, which was initially unknown. The family of the deceased was eventually traced as being from KwaZulu-Natal, and they were notified accordingly. This means that the body will now be handed over to the forensic team on Monday, 30 June, for processing to enable the family to collect,” Modiba explained.
“The Department would like to reiterate that currently, Helen Joseph Hospital has no corpses outstanding and awaiting processing due to printing challenges.”
READ NEXT: ‘I’ve never prayed so hard’ – Warren Masemola reflects on son’s birth during COVID



