Cows are grazing freely among graves and even knocking over headstones after thieves struck at Mayfield Cemetery stealing half the fencing on 3 October.
Cows are grazing freely among graves and even knocking over headstones after thieves struck at Mayfield Cemetery stealing half the fencing on 3 October.
Caretaker Collen Ngindana told Grocott's Mail that this is not the first time this has happened. About three weeks ago families complained about cows grazing among the dead.
The matter was reported to Councillor Marcelle Boysen and a fence was provided.
“Now people are stealing the fence which is meant to protect their parents' graves,” Ngindana said.
“I really fail to understand as to what kind of heartless people steal from a graveyard instead of protecting it.”
He is afraid of being blamed for the damage caused by the cows, he said, so he decided to report the matter to Shoba undertakers.
Mtutuzeli Shoba told Grocott's Mail that the damage is a huge concern for them as undertakers because families rely on them to look after their loved ones' graves.
“If a stray animal knocks down a tombstone, to the families it will seem like we are not doing our job properly,” he said.
Shoba said there were many other cemeteries facing similar problems. Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Kevin Bates told Grocott’s Mail the city cannot afford to employ a security guard for the cemetery.
“The only thing that can be done is to replace the fencing and mark the new poles with paint,” Bates said, adding that they had reported the matter to the police.
However, Grahamstown Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said no such case had been reported to the police.
“If they had reported it we would have it on our records but unfortunately it’s not,” Govender said.
