Villagers dig up grave

AMID arguments over the identity of a body, residents of Shawela village, near Giyani, exhumed the body purported to be that of Glen Mothomoholo (29) on Saturday evening, just one week after he was buried.

Mothomoholo reportedly went missing on August 25 2013 in Pretoria, where he was doing piece jobs. A search for him by his family proved fruitless until they were recently informed that his body was at the Pretoria mortuary.

Once the body was brought home for the funeral, however, Mothomoholo’s mother and siblings confirmed it was his body, while other family members and residents who refuted this.

A private funeral, excluding some of the family members, as well as residents, was held.

When it became public knowledge that the body had already been buried, residents dug up the body and said DNA tests should confirm the body’s identity before it was reburied.

One of the community leaders, Hlayisani Rikhotso said they all knew that Mothomoholo had not been an old man.

“The body they brought here was that of an old man; it’s not him. When the deceased disappeared, we were informed, so why were we not informed when he was found?” Rikhotso questioned, indicating that they were angry with the family over the way this matter had been handled.

Angry residents, including village headman William Manganyi, gathered at the local sports ground to decide the family’s fate.

Police officials were also present to monitor the situation.

“We want all of them gone today, not tomorrow,” Rikhotso said, to applause.

The outcome was that residents decided to march to the family’s home and ask them to leave. The family did not resist and, with the help of the police, they packed their belongings and left for the nearest village, Nsavulani, to seek refuge.

One of Mothomoholo’s brothers, Morris, confirmed that the family was indeed divided over the identity of the corpse.

“Some of us were convinced that it was not him, but others argued that it was him, saying the change in his appearance could have been caused by months of being in the mortuary,” he said.

Provincial police spokesperson, Col Ronél Otto, said the body had been taken to a private undertaker. “We are investigating a case of desecration of a grave as well as malicious damage of property,” she said.