MUHUYU - Villagers of Muhuyu, north of Thohoyandou, are shell-shocked after the discovery of human bones in the middle of the gravel public road. The bones are believed to be of someone who died long ago, before the road was constructed.

The bones now protrude to the road surface after graders fixed the road in the past weeks. The human leg bones bare testimony to what the villagers believe is the most gruesome discovery in the village. There are no markings in the road and motorists are driving their vehicles over the bones in the road surface.

Pedestrians also walk innocently over the bones because there is nothing that cautions them.

Mirror spoke to an old lady, Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe Ramagoma (73), who claims she stayed at the spot, long before the road was constructed. She believes the bones belong to one of her family members who died long ago. “We went to the spot with members of the royal council to examine the bones. My family stayed here for a long time and I believe these are the remains of one of my relatives, although I cannot specifically mention who that person is. These bones do not deserve to be in public view for such a long time because they were discovered two weeks ago. Some people also claimed to have seen a skull in the same place last year, but the community is not sure of its whereabouts now.”

Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe said there is going to be a meeting with the royal council and members of her family, to discuss the issue.

“We strongly believe that other bones might have been moved away by graders and erosion, but we will see to it that our relative receives a proper reburial to appease the ancestors. In the olden days, we buried our loved ones in very shallow graves and this might be the reason why the bones are now protruding into the surface of the ground. The graves of our relatives are scattered all over this place and it was not possible to mark them, in those olden days. Even my younger sister, Mafunise Mushayanzhele, can back up my evidence.”

The village traditional leader, Musanda Vho-Tshizuwisa Tshivhase, said he is facilitating the process of exhuming the bones so that they may be reburied in the local graveyard. He confirmed that another old lady, who is closely related to Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe, has also come forward to support Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe’s evidence.

“An old lady, Mafunise Mushayanzhele, also confirmed that the bones belong to her family member, as Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe has been saying. We are satisfied with the two old ladies’ evidence and we have also consulted their close relatives about thematter. We have agreed to rebury the bones at our local graveyard as soon as possible. We have already acquired a coffin for the bones and we will work with the relatives of the deceased in the exhuming of the bones, as a matter of urgency.”

Vhembe SAPS spokesperson Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi said police can only be involved if the community is divided on whether the bones are of a human being or not. “We can only take the bones for forensic tests if there are doubts about them – but if the village traditional leader and his subjects unanimously agree that they are human bones, they can exhume and bury them with dignity, without our involvement.”