TSHAKHUMA - The long awaited completion of the case regarding the interference with graves by Tshitshithe funeral Undertakers that allegedly took place in October 2002 in Tshakhuma, came to an end last Friday at the Vuwani Magistrate's court.

Tshitshithe was freed from blame in the packed Vuwani court after the court decided that the undertaker was innocent in the case that was brought against them by the Nebodzandala family of Tshakhuma. The family alleged that the undertaker had dug up the grave of the late Baitebadi Nebodzandala.

The court heard that six of the undertaker's workers had been arrested during October after they were allegedly found digging along the side of the grave. The men are Takalani Nelwamondo (23), Godfery Ramahani (23), France Kgobe (23), Spenza Nemakanga (27), Mmbangiseni Nekhalale (32) and Rembuluwani Nemaunzeni (27) and all the defendants had received bail of R3 000 each. In the Mirror of 11 October 2002, Ms Esther Nebodzandala stated that the family had found two boys digging next to the grave while the other four were standing close by, observing all the digging. The family said that they suspected that the men wanted to remove the coffin, which contained articles to the value of R12 500.

The manager of the undertaker, Mr John Ramaano Bono Sigidi told Mirror that he was longing for this time to arrive because he wanted to prove to the community that he was not the kind of person people thought he was. "I am very happy after the court declared that I am innocent. Those two months were ugly days for all of our staff, as they were thinking that things might turn bad for my business. I said before in Mirror that the court would play out its course, and that I did not know anything about digging up graves with the intent of taking the coffin back to the market to be resold," he said. He further added that all his hope and courage was in God's hands as He (God) is the One who takes care of him all the time.

"There are people who are living just to bring successful people down, so I was not surprised when I found that the problem had been reported to the police. Even though it was tough to accommodate the pressure during those days, I expressed my problem to the Almighty God for assistance. There are close relatives who advised me to take legal action against the family, but I felt that it is not good to sue some of my clients even though they tried to damage my character," he said. The PRO of Tshitshithe, Mr Norman Mmbengeni Maremba also told Mirror that he wanted to give his undivided thanks to the people who have been supporting them during the ugly days and he wished all of them a prosperous new year and a merry Christmas.

During the time of going to press, the Nebodzandala family was not available for comment. Tshitshithe is one of the undertakers trying to fight the escalating rate of unemployment, and to date has employed one hundred and seventy seven workers. Mr Sigidi stated that he wished all his clients a good festive season.