A KwaZulu-Natal man says his ex-girlfriend tricked him into thinking their baby had died and he almost buried a doll, believing it was his child.
Nkululeko Zulu, 44, from Machibini in Mandeni, says his hopes of becoming a father turned into heartbreak when he discovered the lie.
Speaking to Isolezwe, Zulu said his ex-girlfriend Diyana Maluleke, also 44, led him to believe she was pregnant.
After many months of financial support from Zulu, Maluleke told him that she had given birth.
However, she gave very few details, and when he pressed for information, he was told the baby had passed away.
The heartbroken father set about making funeral arrangements to bury his baby.
“I am very sad because I had already told myself that I was going to have a baby. But there was nothing we could do; we just started making funeral arrangements,” Zulu said.
On the day of the funeral, his ex-girlfriend arrived from Durban carrying a coffin.
Zulu’s family described her behaviour as sad, like someone who had genuinely lost a child.
But when a relative asked for the coffin to be opened so that the family could say goodbye, they got the shock of their lives.
To everyone’s surprise, the coffin contained a doll wrapped in swaddling clothes.
The funeral guests must have wondered if they needed their eyes tested when they saw the plastic baby staring back at them.