Insurance Regulator Probes Doves Empty Coffin Scandal
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has launched a probe into the burial scandal involving the family of the late Maxwell Chimwamurombe and Doves Funeral Services (Doves).
Allegations are that there was a mix-up at the funeral parlour that resulted in Doves burying an empty coffin at the Chimwamurombe home in Nyanga.
Doves kept Maxwell’s body in their mortuary for six months before giving him a pauper’s burial at Granville Cemetery in Harare. The body was buried alongside that of an unknown person in the same grave.
The two bodies were subsequently exhumed in November by police investigators, and they were taken to Parirenyatwa hospital mortuary for DNA tests.
In a statement on Monday, IPEC said its interest was drawn by the fact that the matter also involved the insurer, Doves Life Assurance, which it regulates. It said:
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) is a statutory body established in terms of the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act (Chapter 24:12), to regulate, supervise and monitor the activities of insurance entities and pension funds.
IPEC is seized with the case of the alleged improper burial of a Doves Life Assurance policy beneficiary, the late Maxwell Chimwamurombe by Doves Funeral Services (Pvt) Ltd.
While IPEC does not regulate funeral service providers such as Doves Funeral Services (Pvt) Ltd, its interest was drawn by the fact that the matter also involved the insurer, Doves Life Assurance, which it regulates.
To this end, IPEC and other stakeholders are seized with this matter. Other stakeholders will be informed of the outcome after the ongoing processes have been finalised.
