'I'm Still Alive!': Woman Who's Supposed to Be Dead Appears at Her Own Funeral Alive

Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, witnessing someone coming back from the dead would be terrifying. One woman did just this, but how she got there in the first place is just as strange.

In 2015, friends and family in Melbourne, Australia, gathered to mourn their beloved Noela Rukundo, offering their comfort to widower Balenga Kalala.

Tragically, she had passed away in an accident while attending her stepmother's funeral in her native Burundi - loved ones now grieved Rukundo's death at her home.

AS WHITE AS A GHOST

They didn't know that Rukundo was waiting outside in her car, watching the procession. As the funeral ended and the last mourners left, her husband walked out. Kalala then got out of her vehicle, expressing:

“Surprise! I’m still alive!”

Of course, if anyone would be shocked to see her in the flesh, it was her husband, who quite literally thought she might be a spirit.

AN EVENING LIKE ANY OTHER

However, this awe may not have been based on the love he had for his previously late wife - maybe it was rooted in something more sinister.

Rukundo's purported accident did occur in her home country but not how it was advertised. One night, while in Burundi, she chose to spend some time in her hotel room to unwind.

TERRIFIED BEYOND BELIEF

Kalala called her, and after hearing that she was not in high spirits, he encouraged Rukundo to go outside for some air, which she did.

Suddenly, the nightmare began. A man with a gun approached her. He forced her into a vehicle that was close by, and proceeded to put a blindfold over her eyes.

After around 40 minutes, the car came to a halt, and the terrified woman was tied to a chair. These men eventually informed her that her husband had paid them to kill her.

AN OUT OF THIS WORLD REALISATION

Rukundo refused to believe it until one of the kidnappers was on the phone, which he ensured was on loudspeaker. She could hear her husband's voice saying:

"Kill her."

Rukundo then passed out, and to her utter surprise, when she woke up, she was informed by the gang leader that they didn't kill children or women. Still, they extorted her spouse for money, upping the prize for his wife's apparent murder.

GANG RULES

They then let Rukundo go, with Kalala under the impression that his wife was dead. The men set her free on a roadside after two days in captivity. One member said:

"You people get a chance to go overseas for a better life. But the money you are earning...you use it for killing each other!"

The group of men also left her records of the phone exchanges they had with her husband and the alleged payment receipts they had for the money Kalala paid them.

THE CONSEQUENCES

Booking a flight back to Australia with evidence in hand, Rukundo was ready to take this to court. In a trial that took place in December 2016, Kalala pled guilty.

Chief Justice Marilyn Warren sentenced him to 9 years in prison. The judge said his conviction was merciless as the murder could have left Rukundo's eight children without a mother.

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BEYOND THE HORROR

Rukundo said that she still relives the incident in her head, experiencing nightmares of the two days she spent tied up and fearing for her life. However, she expressed:

"I will stand up like a strong woman."

Rukundo is a woman with an almost unbelievable and ferocious story. She is also a woman who shows us that we all have the will to move on and rewrite a new narrative.