THE relatives of the deceased buried at a Bhongweni Cemetery have been complaining about the grave site being turned into a place of criminal activities.
A myriad of allegations of unsavoury activities have taunted the cemetery for years. Among the concerns is that prostitutes are apparently using the site to conduct their business.
Residents have asked the Greater Kokstad Municipality (GKM) to fence the grave site to prevent people from using it as a pathway. While it had previously been fenced it was later vandalised by unknown people.
This week GKM responded the communitys’ calls and informed the public that it has set aside R1,5 million to fence the grave site once again.
Municipal spokesperson, Nthabeleng Matshoba, told the Fever that a service provider is in the process of procuring material for fencing the cemetery.
“According to the specifications provided, the fence will be highly visible making it easy to identify should it be stolen. We also want people to assist us in making sure that the fence is protected from criminals,” said Matshoba.
He said he project will take eight weeks to complete and will create work opportunities as well.
Expressing their gratitude for the announcement is the Tambo family from Kokstad.
In April 2016, the Fever published the Tambo family’s story after the grave of the late John Fana Tambo was vandalised by unknown people. The family then complained about wreaths that have been stolen from some of their family graves. They also stressed that as a family they had about five family members buried at the grave site in 2016, however currently only two can be identified due to neglect.
A family spokesperson, Zamuxolo Tambo, thanked the municipality for giving the cemetery attention.
“We appreciate the municipality for what is doing. My plea to the municipality is to monitor the service provider to avoid unfinished work,” said Tambo.
When the Fever visited the grave site this week, people were walking on top of the graves while others were cleaning their graves.
