Search on for grave vandals
It is still not known who desecrated 77 graves on Monday night, April 25, at the Letaba Cemetery situated next to the showgrounds.
The Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) alerted the police last week Tuesday of the incident and attempted to open a case. “The GTM however cannot open a case with the police, this can only be done by the families whose graves have been tampered with. “Families who have had burials at the Letaba Cemetery are therefore advised to visit the cemetery to ascertain if headstones at their graves have been
vandalised or not.
“If their headstones are amongst those vandalised, they must open a case with the police,” said Neville Ndlala, GTM spokesperson. He said that GTM strongly condemns the incident and apologised to the affected families.
“We are presently unaware of the motive behind the vandalism,” he said. On Tuesday, GTM’s Vutivi Makhuvele confirmed that GTM has not received any reports from any families despite their call on social media to do so.
Also read: ‘Beautification’ of Modjadjiskloof vandalised
The Freedom Front Plus (FF) in Tzaneen also tried to open a case on behalf of the families to ensure that the investigation gets underway as soon as possible. André Moss, FFplus councillor in the GTM, accused the municipality of not wanting to open a case. “They felt it would be better if all 77 families went to open the cases themselves.
“After I was made aware of the vandalism, I went to the police station to open a case on behalf of the families and the Letaba Cemetery.
“ I spoke to Capt Refilwe Sekoto who told me that Xoliswa Gala, who is the manager at the cemetery should be opening a case, which she did the following day. “We as the FF condemn the vandalism and will not rest until the culprits are brought to book.
It is a human rights violation when ordinary citizens can’t even go to mourn their loved ones in a safe and secure environment. “We will work together with law enforcement agencies to find the criminals and will put pressure on the municipality to secure the graveyard to prevent future incidents,” Moss said. On Tuesday Sgt Maurice Nkhwashu, spokesperson at the Tzaneen Police Station confirmed that a case was opened on Thursday, April 28 with case number 297/4/2022 and that an investigation is underway.
The police are asking anyone with information to contact Col Zitha on 082 469 0931. Families can also contact Gala at 082 909 8848.
