“It’s still a final resting place”

“Yes, the cemetery is mostly inactive, but it is still a place of peace and many people throughout the years made it a final resting place for their loved ones,” he says.

Sheodin says he gets almost daily calls about the state of the cemetery and how often it gets vandalised, but that the metro does not do anything about it as they have classified it as an inactive cemetery.

He says a small part of the cemetery is still active and those residents take care of the upkeep and tidying of it themselves.

“Although the cemetery is old, the Muslim part is still active and the vandalism is rife around here.”

Sheodin showed the Addie how slabs of the wall, which has been recently fixed, have been broken again.

“People walk right across here and break up the tombs for no reason and the people are distressed about this.

“Therefore I was thinking, they are providing security for other cemeteries, they should provide for this place.”

He says because people get access through the cemetery to the residential houses in Bakerton, there are many robberies .

“They come through here, they jump over the walls and they rob the people over there all the time.

“They hold them hostage and take their things away and that is why I feel, for the sake of the residents alongside this cemetery, we need security here.”

Watch the video of Sheodin at the cemetery.

Themba Gadebe, spokesman for Ekurhuleni, says Bakerton is not an active cemetery, as it has reached capacity and therefore does not have security.

“All cemeteries need security and we are aware of the illegal activities and unsafe conditions at Bakerton cemetery, the department has identified several active and inactive cemeteries to be allocated security within the available budget.

“The number of cemeteries that will receive extra security will increase each and every financial year as we continue receiving more funds,” he says.