Despite Makana Municipality spending more than a million rand erecting perimeter fences around its cemeteries last year, vandals continue to raid the unguarded graveyards.
Despite Makana Municipality spending more than a million rand erecting perimeter fences around its cemeteries last year, vandals continue to raid the unguarded graveyards.
The Mundy family tomb in the Albany Road cemetery has been laid bare and residents say that children play in it.
The tomb resembles a small room in the basement floor and is accessible toeveryone as the slabs that once covered the stairs that lead to it have been removed while the lock securing the gate has been broken.
There are signs that people have been there recently as beer bottles, paper and remnants of plastic bags are scattered everywhere.
The top of the tombstone is destroyed and surrounded by pieces of broken glass. Inside the grave is a coffin with three skulls lying on top of it with human bones strewn nearby.
Another skull can be seen on a shelf which is hanging against the wall while another is lying on the floor among the bones.
The stench emanating from the tomb is almost unbearable. Despite Grocott’s Mail reporting the dire state of the grave to the municipality’s Parks and Recreation department on Tuesday, nothing has been done about the situation yet.
Makana spokesperson Thandy Matebese said that some cemeteries have caretakers which stay there but that it is not “financially sustainable” for the municipality to hire a caretaker for all the cemeteries.
"The issue of vandalism is regrettably becoming too common, it is even more disturbing when places of the departed are also affected."
“The community members need to speak out against such behaviour as this paints a tainted picture of our social fibre and brings our morals into question,”he said.
However, he did not say why the gates of cemeteries are not locked at certain times to restrict access. Nor did he say if there’s a law or by-law which prohibits people from vandalising graves or what happens if a person is caught in the act.
Buried in the grave are Sarah Ellen Mundy who died on 27 March 1894 at age 46, Stephen Mundy who died on 15 June 1894, Stephen (the older son of the above) who died on 8 November 1911 aged 70, Mary Boyce Mundy died on 8 December 1890 aged 84 years, Mary Cox Mundy died on 5 January 1898 and Robert Mundy who died in Basutholand on 29 March 1881 at the age of 39.
