Five years after a 21-year-old Bloemfontein man was buried by the state without his family’s consent, the Phike family have finally been able to lay their son to rest. Their son’s decomposed body was found three weeks later at a storage warehouse on the edge of Bloemfontein. The Phike family have been trying ever since to have Msindisi’s body exhumed by the state so he can be buried under their customary rights. On Wednesday, Msindisi’s body was exhumed at the Bainsvlei cemetery where most of the pauper state burials are done. Later the same day, the Phike family held a burial ceremony for him at Memorial Cemetery.