Tension enveloped Tanzania’s Katavi district when Masanja Masengwa, a man presumed dead and buried the previous year, stunned his family with a New Year’s greeting via phone.
As reported by Ayo TV, Masengwa, aged 30, had supposedly passed away and undergone burial proceedings by his family. However, in a bizarre turn of events, Masengwa contacted his relatives, vehemently denying his demise.
On December 26, the family received a call informing them of Masengwa’s alleged death. In shock, family members and a local councilor hurried to confirm the tragic incident.
Ditto Shilinde, the deceased’s brother-in-law, recounted the bewildering situation, stating, “I received an early morning call on the 26th, informing me of my brother-in-law’s passing. I relayed the news to my wife, and shortly after, the councilor arrived with the same report. I contacted his wife, who revealed he had been missing for 2 to 3 months, and we had lost contact.”
Faced with conflicting information, the family proceeded to a hospital to verify Masengwa’s identity. Convinced of the corpse’s authenticity, they conducted a burial ceremony.
“At the hospital, the doctor took his elder brother, also my brother-in-law, to the morgue where the body was kept. The body was already decomposed and emitting a foul odor. When his brother slightly uncovered the head, he confirmed it was him. So, we placed the body in a coffin and brought it here for burial,” added Shilinde.
After the burial, the family and community members concluded the mourning period, assuming the ordeal was over.
However, on January 1, Masengwa surprised everyone by calling his brother in Kigoma to wish him a Happy New Year. His brother, astonished, declared he was still alive and explained his absence was due to no network coverage and a drained phone battery.
Amidst growing confusion and indications of burying the wrong body, the family gathered to report the incident to the police.
“When we arrived in town, we found him, and I said, ‘This is indeed my brother-in-law,’ and his elder brother said, ‘This is my younger brother.’ We greeted him and told him, ‘Brother, we were informed that you had left this world,’ as we pointed to the buried body. He replied, ‘My dear siblings, I am still alive,'” narrated Shilinde.
