MUHUYU – The human bones that were sticking out of the ground in the middle of the public road were exhumed and reburied with dignity at Muhuyu graveyard, north of Thohoyandou, on Wednesday last week. Classic Funeral Directors donated a coffin for the burial.

The story of the discovery of the bones was featured in last week’s edition of Mirror.

Although the identity of the bones was not clear, there was strong evidence that linked them with some villagers who stayed at the spot before the road was constructed. One of the senior citizens of the village, Vhakoma Vho-Tshavhungwe Ramagoma (73), publicly declared that the bones belonged to an unidentified member of her family who was buried there many years ago.

The village traditional leader, Khosi Tshizuwisa Tshivhase, said he was happy now that the bones had received a dignified burial. He explained: “Soon after the discovery of the bones, we wrote a letter to inform the Tshivhase Traditional Authority about the matter. Together with the declaration of Vhokoma Vho-Tshavhungwe Ramagoma, we approached the Thulamela Municipality, who gave us the permission to go on with the process of reburying the bones. We also had support from the Department of Transport whose officials were there to monitor the traffic flow as we exhumed the bones from the road. Members of the local community were also there to assist us during the reburial.”

Although the grave is unmarked and has no tombstone, Khosi Tshivhase said he believes the spirit of the deceased will rest in peace, at long last. “This is the highest respect we can ever give to the bones of the deceased member of our community. We would also like to express appreciation for the support from all stakeholders who assisted us throughout the reburial process.”