The restoration of vandalised graves in the ash walls of Braamfontein Cemetery nears completion
Friends of Johannesburg Cemeteries has worked tirelessly since April last year to rebuild and restore the more than 5 000 desecrated graves.
Maintaining graves and tombstones is the responsibility of family members and does not fall under Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo to manage.
However, many family members pay no attention to family graves, pass on themselves or move away, which often leads to graves looking unkempt, broken and damaged.
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This is where the heroes of Friends of Johannesburg Cemeteries (FOJC) step in. Volunteers spend their weekends maintaining, fixing and cleaning graveyards across the city.
When the ash walls at the Braamfontein Cemetery were vandalised in April 2023, over 5 000 niches were ransacked and destroyed.
Sarah Welham who founded the non-profit said at the time, “I am in a state of disbelief. We regularly do maintenance on the ash walls and clean the plaques. I can’t believe it. We will have to work out which plaque goes where and somehow cement them back into place.
“It is due to the negligence of City Parks that this has happened. There are security guards at night, but they have not been fitted with any equipment to ward off intruders. It is pitch dark at night and they are afraid. It is also a 20-hectare cemetery.”
Fundraising to carry out the extensive repairs has been extraordinary with people donating funds, manpower, building and other materials and more.
Despite this outpouring of support, FOJC is struggling, with only three more weeks of builders’ salaries in their coffers.
“We are on the last section now and estimate we will be finished in weeks rather than months.”
Following the incident, City Parks has put in place additional security measures.
“A dedicated private security team has been placed with a canine unit to patrol the facility and to deter criminal activity. This is further complemented with random patrols by the rangers, JMPD and SAPS,” says spokesperson Jenny Moodley.
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“The unfortunate reality is that due to the ongoing theft of the perimeter fencing, the facility is prone to vandalism and is used as a thoroughfare by persons loitering and by waste reclaimers.
“The facility’s management team – after the desecration of the memorial walls – repaired lighting, fixed broken windows, installed new panels of fencing and helped reinstate some of the memorial walls together with the Friends of Joburg’s Cemeteries.”
Installing expensive concrete panels to replace the fence to prevent vandalism is not an option for the entity as no capital expenditure funding from the city has been allocated.
Moodley urges, “All visitors should exercise caution when visiting the cemetery and to report transgressions to JMPD on 011 3755911.”
To learn more about Friends of Johannesburg Cemeteries, or to make a donation, visit www.joburgheritage.org.za
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