A Joza family, whose relative passed away last week, finally got the deceased's Identity Document this week after days of begging a money lender to release it.
A Joza family, whose relative passed away last week, finally got the deceased's Identity Document this week after days of begging a money lender to release it.
The deceased's sister Nomaliza Vena claimed that Nosakhele Khelekethe of N Street refused to hand the ID over to the family, arguing that the deceased was dependent on her. “She told us that the deceased [Nyameko Vena] has depended on her for food and a place to stay," she explained.
“I didn't know how she came up with those claims because most of the times my brother came home drunk."
Vena says that Khelekethe is a money lender and that she also sells liquor.
“She took my brother and made him join a funeral policy with a local bank, for which she was registered as a beneficiary without informing the family, or register any of his relatives,” she said.
Vena also said: “Last week we asked the police to escort us to her house to get the ID, but the police could not help us either because Khelekethe was so rude to the police. Eventually we managed to beg her and she gave us the ID only three days before the funeral,” she explained.
Attempts to obrain comment from Khelekethe were unsuccessful. According to law, it is illegal for a money lender to keep an ID so a person is well within their rights to refuse to do so. Vena warned other residents not to allow loan sharks to keep their identity documents. “They can do whatever they want with the IDs in their possession,” she said.
