Funeral Cover Companies Reject 122-year old man…Four firms in SA & Zim say NO to Sekuru Banda

… _They say he is a high-risk client likely to die soon…Banda must be the oldest person in the world now
_
HE has outlived the colonial era, the two World Wars and the pandemics which struck the globe but Sekuru Anuloisa Banda, who is 122 years-old, can’t get funeral cover to help offset the funeral costs when death finally catches up with him.

Yes, you read it right—he is 122.

His ID card shows that he was born on December 12, 1903, in Tukuyu, on the border between Malawi and Tanzania. The centenarian moved to then-Rhodesia in the 1920s. He’s now the pride of Ward 8 in Bulilima District, Matabeleland South, and possibly the oldest person in the world.

If verified, he could even enter the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person ever. The world’s oldest confirmed person, Ethel Caterham of the UK, is a sprightly 115 — and she swears the secret is “never arguing with anyone.”

In the Guinness World Records, the title of the oldest person ever recorded is held by Jeanne Louise Calment.

She was born in France on February 21, 1875, and lived until August 4, 1997, when she died at the age of 122 years and 164 days.

She has the longest documented and verified human lifespan.

Enter Sekuru Banda.

Still amazingly clear-minded, one can say he’s 122 and still counting.

Despite surviving the test of time, what for other mortals is usually a mere formality is standing in his way.

Four funeral insurance providers have rejected him because he’s “too old” and a “high risk” client.

“My daughter in South Africa tried to register uKhulu with two Zimbabwean-run funeral policy companies there. They said, ‘he’s too old, he might die anytime,’ said his daughter-in-law, Mrs Judith Maphosa.

“Just like that. Cold and clinical.”

Undeterred, the family tried their luck with two more service providers here in Zimbabwe, only to hit the same wall.

“We know he won’t live forever,” Mrs Maphosa said. “But it’s cruel to treat him like he’s expired milk. He’s a human being who deserves dignity, even in death.”

Sekuru Banda, who lives with his daughter-in-law’s family, still has his mental faculties intact, recalling historical details like the time he left home at 18 to work in Dar es Salaam, and later heading south to Rhodesia around 1923, in search of better opportunities. He worked in Mhangura, Bindura and Shamva mines, rubbing shoulders with hundreds of immigrants brought in under Wenela — the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association, which recruited Malawians and Zimbabweans for the South African mining sector.

Eventually, he settled in Filabusi, where he met his late wife, Mrs Xotshiwe Maphosa, and raised five children, three of whom are now deceased.

“My mother-in-law passed away in 2008 and I couldn’t let uKhulu live alone,” said Mrs Maphosa.

“He needs help getting around, going outside, even using the toilet. But his memory is better than some people half his age.”

The family is now appealing for a wheelchair.

Anyone willing to help can contact Mrs Maphosa on 0775 894 249.

An official, who works at a company involved in providing funeral cover services, spoke to Zimpapers Metros on condition of anonymity.

He said most companies don’t accept new clients above 70, citing the obvious – they’re not profitable.

“There are once-off packages available, where you pay up front for the coffin, hearse, chairs and tents. That’ll set you back about US$1 000 or even US$500 for cheaper, local set-ups,” the source revealed.

H-metro