28/07/2025
*Cemeteries becoming no-go zones for mourners*
● Visitors robbed at gunpoint, caskets stolen, tombstones vandalised
Caskets stolen, mourners robbed at gunpoint, tombstones vandalised, livestock grazing on graves and children playing soccer among the headstones.
Cemetery problems in Nelson Mandela Bay persist, provoking growing anger from visitors.
The Zwide, Bethelsdorp, Papenkuil and Motherwell cemeteries were visited on Friday.
Large sections of fencing have been stolen, allowing easy access for criminals.
At the Motherwell cemetery, cattle, sheep and goats were roaming freely and grazing among the graves as a herdsman looked on.
One corner of the cemetery has been turned into an illegal dumping ground — allegedly by residents of the nearby Nomakanjani informal settlement.
An unused section with no graves is used as a makeshift soccer field.
At the Bethelsdorp and Papenkuil cemeteries, visitors are forced to go in groups for safety as individuals have been attacked and robbed at gunpoint.
A public health official, who did not want to be named, said the metro could not afford to pay for security guards.
“Armed robberies are prevalent in Motherwell, but since we involved the police a few years ago those incidents have stopped,” he said.
“The Motherwell cemetery has teams playing soccer right next to people’s graves, and Nomakanjani residents throw and burn their rubbish there.
“The livestock are there permanently, the animals are brought to graze there, and what can we do when the fence is broken?
There is no denying them entry.”
According to the official, security services were halted after more than 600 guards were insourced following a 2019 council resolution.
The decision, intended to save the municipality money, backfired and ultimately cost the city millions more, and left dozens of other facilities in ruin due to vandalism.
Two friends from Missionvale, Calvin Raymond and Berto Jantjies, were digging a grave for Jantjies’s grandmother at the Bethelsdorp cemetery.
They shared disturbing stories about things they had witnessed or heard.
“As of 2024 and early this year, there were many families who found their loved ones’ graves opened, with the bodies lying on the ground and caskets stolen.
“What grieving families do now after a funeral is have some relatives stand guard overnight to safeguard the casket.
Some have resorted to buying cheaper coffins in hopes of preventing the theft.”
Raymond said they did not feel safe as they worked because they knew people who had been robbed at gunpoint there.
When ward 15 councillor Mpumelelo Majola visited his parents’ graves in the Zwide cemetery last weekend, he discovered the tombstone kerbs missing on both graves.
“This was the case at other graves nearby, with some missing the actual headstones,” Majola said.
“I went there to clean my mom and dad’s graves, as is the norm in the family, when I made the heartbreaking discovery.
I was too scared to check further down because there was a suspicious bakkie with some guys who were just sitting in the vehicle.
“Security is a serious issue in our cemeteries and the municipality needs to do something about it urgently before more families are affected.”
Resident Lindiwe Mesani, who had visited a loved one in Papenkuil cemetery, was visibly shaken when approached by reporters from The Herald.
She quickly rushed to her car and rolled down the window just enough to hear what was being said.
Asked about her reaction, Mesani said the cemetery had many dodgy characters.
“I had to ask someone to accompany me because I was not going to risk my safety and come here alone,” she said.
“There are strange characters.
“There is no security guard, so if something happened to me no-one would know.
“I usually visit with my whole family as a safety measure, but most couldn’t make it, so I asked a friend, but we are both scared.”
In May, criminals removed tombstones and dug up graves at the Papenkuil cemetery in their relentless pursuit of street lighting cables to pawn for just a few quick rand.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said graveyards were municipal property and safeguarding them was their responsibility.
“The police, however, can confirm that graveyards are included in the patrol routes of station crime prevention vehicles daily.
“When mass funerals are conducted, police also intensify their visibility around these sites.”
Public health political head Thsonono Buyeye could not be reached for comment.
Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya did not respond.
