A Chipata family was left shocked and overjoyed after a man they believed had died unexpectedly returned home while funeral proceedings were underway in his honour.
The unusual incident happened in Munga Compound, Chipata District, last week, after Foster Zulu, who had gone missing on Friday, October 30, 2026, walked into his own funeral, bringing burial preparations to an abrupt end.
According to his wife, who declined to be named, the family had become concerned after Zulu went missing, prompting their son to report the matter to the police.
The son later visited Chipata Central Hospital mortuary on Sunday to establish whether his father was among the unclaimed bodies.
She explained that mortuary authorities informed her son that his father’s name did not appear on the list of unclaimed bodies. However, he was allowed to physically inspect the bodies at the facility.
During the exercise, the son mistakenly identified another body as that of his missing father, leading the family to believe that Zulu had died.
You could be the next winner of K20,000 sign up here
Funeral arrangements were subsequently initiated, with relatives and mourners gathering to pay their last respects to the man they thought they had lost.
However, the situation took an extraordinary turn when Zulu unexpectedly returned home, only to discover that funeral proceedings were already underway in his honour.
His sudden appearance left family members and mourners in disbelief before the shock turned into jubilation as they realised that he was alive.
The discovery immediately brought the funeral preparations to a halt, as the family came to terms with the mistaken identification.
Meanwhile, Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba has advised families to involve elderly relatives when identifying deceased family members to avoid similar incidents.
The unusual episode serves as a reminder of the importance of carefully verifying the identity of deceased persons before funeral arrangements are made, particularly in circumstances involving missing relatives and unidentified bodies.
For the Zulu family, what had begun as a painful farewell ended in an unexpected reunion, as a man presumed dead returned to find his own funeral taking place.
Looking for the latest sports odds and markets? Check them out here.
