All cemeteries in Ekurhuleni now have security officers and supervisory personnel.

This is aimed at preventing a repeat of atrocious acts that have taken place, including tombstone vandalism, rape,  robbery and the hijacking of gravesite visitors.

Cemeteries such as Thokoza-Schoeman, Phumlani, Edenvale, Ililiba, Lala Ngoxolo, Vlakfontein and Petersfield Cemeteries were the hardest hit by crime and have been beefed up with patrol dogs, in addition to security officers and supervisory personnel.

This intervention has yielded positive results that led to several arrests in Tembisa (Mooifontein and Ililiba Cemetery).

“The municipality also understands that the crime phenomenon is opportunistic in nature, which requires us to keep the maintenance up to date,” said Ekurhuleni’s spokesperson Themba Gadebe.

In this regard, a contractor was deployed at Alberton Cemetery to deal with a maintenance backlog on the second week of January in order to assist with maintenance while all the other cemeteries are maintained twice a month.