Graves vandalised in Tshififi graveyard

The community of Tshififi outside Thohoyandou is in shock, following the discovery of several vandalized graves at their graveyard on Saturday morning.

The graves were to be used the same morning to bury two members of the community who had passed away.

The Ravele family had prepared to bury Ntanganedzeni Ravele (24), who had died of an unspecified but short illness, while the Tshiwandalani family prepared to give a decent funeral their beloved granny, Vho Phophi Muvhango Mamathuba Tshiwandalani (88). Tshiwandalani was to be laid to rest next to her husband,  Mukoma, who died in 1982. This had made the family very happy and they had also paved the old man's grave, together with the gogo's.

Unbeknown to them, forces of darkness were waiting for the right time to strike and thwart the families’ efforts to bury their loved ones. The discovery was made early on Saturday when the undertaker who was to conduct the burials went to the cemetery to make the final arrangements.

Ms Rendani Mukhethoni, one of granny Tshiwandalani's grandchildren, said the family was very excited that, so many years after her grandfather's death, they had found an empty space just next to his grave where they could lay their granny to rest. "We spent a lot of money preparing for the burial, and the worst news was to hear that our gogo's grave had been vandalized. We did not know what to do as mourners were already at our home. The body was already in the house, but we finally decided to let the undertaker take the body back to the mortuary while we prepared a new grave at her home," she said.

She further indicated that food had already been prepared and they had to let the people eat, even though the funeral was postponed to the following day. The granny was finally laid to rest on Sunday.

Mukhethoni said the family was happy that it was over and that they had managed to give her a befitting send off, even though they had planned to bury her next to her husband.

The Ravele family hired a grader to clear the bush and dig a grave where they finally buried their daughter at a nearby village.

The local traditional leader, Chief Tshikalange, expressed his shock at the incident. "There is more to the vandalism than appears at face value. The dead and their families have not done anything wrong. We know the people behind this are trying to get to me. They are fighting for power, but they are doing it the wrong way as they are making innocent people suffer."

Tshikalange said plans were afoot to open a new graveyard at the village, but said there were many empty spaces at the local graveyard that could still be utilised. 

The Tshiwandalani family has since laid a charge of vandalism with the Thohoyandou police.

News - Date: 02 October 2015

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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