Mother wants municipality to maintain Trichardt Cemetery
Grass and bushes at Trichardt Cemetery are overgrown.
The mother of a baby who died on February 25, 2017, when he was just three days old, is upset with Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) about the way they work around the cemetery in Trichardt.
Elize Nienaber said her son, Dawid van der Nest Nienaber, was buried at the Trichardt Cemetery in 2017.
They do not live in Trichardt anymore, but whenever they are in the area and visit his grave, they notice that the grave is damaged.
“My baby’s gravestone was hit by a tractor and they just drive over the grave with the tractor every time they cut the grass,” said Nienaber.
“How is that showing respect to our loved ones?”
Nienaber also complained about the condition of the cemetery and said it is not being well maintained.
Every time she and her family visit the grave, everything they put on the grave, such as flowers flowers or plants, is stepped on and destroyed.
“We have planted evergreen grass there, two little trees and plants, but everything just gets destroyed by the municipal workers cutting the grass.”
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Even the day of her baby’s funeral in 2017 was an ordeal for the family as they had to go and buy bricks to put underneath the grave as the hole was filled with water.
“We refused that they bury our baby in water. That part of the cemetery where my baby is buried has never been maintained and the grass and bushes there are always overgrown.”
Nienaber wants the municipality to take responsibility and maintain the cemetery and keep it in a better condition.
Both spokespersons of GMM, Donald Green and Lucky Mhlongo, were asked for comment two weeks ago but did not respond at the time of going to print.
