No access to dad’s grave at uMhlanga cemetery
The cemetery is a cross section of pauper's graves and marked tombstones.
AN uMhlanga resident has voiced his anguish on not being able to visit his father’s gravesite for more than two years due to the road and graveyard being inaccessible.
Last week Northglen News met with Kim Parkes who took our reporter on a dirt road which is supposed to lead to the uMhlanga graveyard situated near the Izinga Estate.
The dirt road, which some use to reach Blackburn Road, has also been barricaded with cement bollard leaving the route totally inaccessible.
“My father passed away more than 20 years ago and at the time, there was some development going on but the graveyard was accessible at that time. In the last four or five years I’ve not been able to get close to the graveyard or even see the gates to the cemetery. I’ve tried several times because I would like to pay my respects and see my father’s grave.
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“A good friend of mine is also buried at the cemetery and I had promised his wife, who now lives in the UK, that I would look after his grave but I haven’t been able to fulfil my promise. She has also tried to get there but was left in tears the last time she visited uMhlanga because she couldn’t access the graveyard,” he said.
Parkes said he had been in contact with the eThekwini Municipality Leisure and Cemeteries Department to find out how to access the cemetery.
“They told me the dirt road leading to Blackburn Village was the way to get there but I’ve used it and have not been able to get there. The cemetery is a cross section of pauper’s graves and marked tombstones but the fact that I don’t know whether the graveyard still exists is deeply concerning. I would like the City to provide some clarity on whether the graveyard is still there. We owe the dead respect and at the very least, the road to the cemetery should be accessible,” he said.
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded to our questions at the time of publication.
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