WATCH | ‘I opened the grave’: Man claims he dug up Nkonyane’s body

An explosive claim by a man who alleges he dug up the shallow grave believed to contain the body of late eNyonini Church president Thami Nkonyane has added a dramatic new twist to the ongoing burial saga. In the recording, the man alleges that he was instructed to open the grave to verify whether Nkonyane had indeed been buried there. He claims he found the body inside, wrapped in cowhide and dressed in church regalia.

The development emerged as the Nkonyane family returned to the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in what was effectively their third attempt to obtain an interdict to exhume the body. Instead of granting the order, the magistrate indicated that an exhumation could only proceed if there was credible evidence confirming that Nkonyane’s body is buried in the shallow grave. According to Nkonyane’s sister, Sibongile Nkonyane, the court instructed that the man heard in the recording must report to police and provide a sworn affidavit detailing what he allegedly saw and who instructed him to dig up the grave.

We are not sure whether the man will come forward because what happened was unlawful. The family’s legal efforts have been repeatedly frustrated by procedural setbacks, leaving Nkonyane’s body still buried as questions surrounding his death and burial continue to mount. The controversy stems from a series of dramatic developments, including claims that Nkonyane’s coffin contained only bricks at his funeral, prompting a search that led to the discovery of the shallow grave on church premises. The family maintains that its priority is to have the body exhumed so that a post-mortem can determine the exact cause of death.