This is a true-life story of a prominent South African politician who defied the popular belief that a man cannot take his wealth to Heaven.
He was buried in his beloved Mercedes limousine according to his instruction before his death.
The deceased is identified as Tshekede Bufton Pitso, a former leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in Eastern Cape and he died last week, after collapsing in his driveway as he was making his way to his second-hand 1990s Mercedes E500 limousine.
The former businessman had once had an entire fleet of luxurious Mercedes cars but was forced to sell them in recent years, after falling on hard times.
He did manage to buy a used E500, and though it had broken down and couldn’t be driven anymore, he still enjoyed spending time in it and listening to the car radio.
It was his favourite thing in the world as he told his family he wanted to be buried in it whenever he dies.
This wish was honoured last week as people showed up in droves to attend the ‘unusual’ burial ceremony of late Chief Pitso despite the Covid-19 lockdown.
The parlour in charge of the funeral told members of the press that honouring the wishes of the family in regards to the unusual coffin was difficult and stressful.
Thabiso Mantutle, director of the Phomolong Funeral Parlor, said: “We have never had such a request before to be buried in a car and it was a difficult and stressful task to undertake.
“We had to make sure we had all the correct measurements to completely bury the car and to construct the ramp to get it in the grave and get all the correct paperwork done”.
Tshekede’s 49-year-old daughter, Sefora Letswaka, told journalists: “My father was once a wealthy businessman and had a fleet of Mercedes cars but towards the end, he hit on hard times and they went.
“About two years ago he bought himself a second hand Mercedes Benz.
“It wasn’t long before it broke down but he still spent much of his time in it outside the house. He couldn’t drive it but that was where he was happy and spent much of his time sitting behind the wheel.
Sefora added that: “He said when the time came he wanted to be buried in it. We listened to him and honoured his wish and hope he is happy looking down on us.
Apparently, burying people in cars is not entirely unheard of in Africa.
A couple of years ago, a Nigerian man honoured his father by burying him in a $90,000 brand new BMW X5.
Five years ago, it was also reported that another Nigerian businessman buried his mother in a Hummer SUV.
