Forty-seven graves under water in Ventersdorp

Forty-seven families in Ventersdorp are facing insurmountable difficulties in forcing the municipality to move their dearly departed from a flooded site to a more suitable one.

Francinah Mathongwane says she made the horrific discovery when she went to visit the graveyards of her brother-in-law and sister-in-law on February 21. The whole area was flooded and forty-seven graves were damaged  and not because of the rain.

Francinah says the municipality earmarked and allocated land for a cemetery that was unsuitable for burials and may even have an underground spring.

“We have had countless meetings with the municipality about the situation. They promised to find a proper burial site and exhume the bodies in May but they continue to drag their feet. We have even approached the CRL (Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities) to intervene because nothing is being done.”

Francinah says they are having sleepless nights. “Those are our people, we cannot just leave them in a pool of water,” she says, horrified.

Ike Genu who buried his aunt in the waterlogged cemetery earlier this year believes this a critical situation and is furious with the municipality for not solving their problems. “In the first place, the area was never surveyed to determine the suitability of the land for erecting a burial site.

“It is heartbreaking to lose someone and, while still grieving, you find them in a pool of water. It is like we are grieving for the second time. The last time we had the meeting with the municipality, some of the family members were crying hysteri-cally,” says Ike.

After realising the error of allocating the land for burials, the municipality has since found another place for the community to bury their loved ones. The 47 existing graves remain on the unsuitable site, however.