City develops on graves
Proper investigations should have been conducted before allocating the land people.
“What the Tshwane metro is doing is very wrong and very disrespectful to our ancestors,” said resident of Pienaarspoort/ Matlapanyana, Petrus Nkomo.
Nkomo (48) was responding to news that the metro had allocated land on which his family were buried to people to build homes.
“Today we have nowhere to go speak to our ancestors. This is un-African, the mayor is an African and clearly knows culture,” said Nkomo.
He claimed the metro had not discussed this with his family but just pushed the more than 48 graves aside using a TLB tractor.
“My grandparents and uncles are buried here,” said Nkomo adding his family even had a pending claim on the land.
“We approached the metro before the allocation of stands started last year June but clearly it did not listen to us.”
He added that a proper investigation should have been conducted before the allocation of the stands.
“Allocating stands on top of graves is un-African and disrespectful,” said Democratic Alliance Tshwane mayoral candidate, Solly Msimanga.
“It is like opening old wounds, and hurting people with loved ones resting.”
Msimanga was visiting the burial site on Plot 45 last Thursday, after news that the metro had allocated stands to people from Stoffel Park and Phomolong Informal Settlement to build their homes there.
“The metro destroyed graves incredulously and has subsequently built RDP houses on top of graves,” said Msimanga.
The DA previously laid criminal charges against the metro for “violating a grave”.
“The DA regards the wanton destruction of graves as an insult to the people of the city and it is anathema to the values we espouse and expect any city government to respect,” said Msimanga.
Some of the graves lay two metres away from the shacks.
Mamelodi traditional healer, Solly Mathebula said he was very disappointed with the metro’ actions.
“That is [supposed to be] a peaceful place, but now the metro has tampered with that. It should have spoken to the families about exhuming the bodies,” said Mathebula.
He predicted that the people the metro had moved there would know “peace in that place”.
The Tshwane metro had not responded to the Rekord enquiry at the time of going to print.
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