VHUTALU - He was supposed to be buried in peace alongside the grave of his father, but his body is still lying in the mortuary, because it was returned from his village on the morning of his funeral.

Scores of villagers went to attend his funeral, but they were greeted by policemen at the graveyard gate, with a court interdict forbidding them to bury him in the graveyard where his relatives are buried.

The scene resembled a Hollywood movie as frustrated villagers went back to their homes and the hearse returned with the body without the funeral’s taking place, although the grave was fully prepared. Only an open grave bears testimony to the incident, the first of its kind in the small village.

This is the sad story of Tshibvakule Mudau (48) whose suffering continues even after his death. Two traditional royal councils in the same rural mountainous village of Vhutalu, outside Thohoyandou, are at each other’s throats and the latest drama is said to be the result of their conflicts. The long-standing power struggle between the two councils is said to have hindered progress and the village is divided into two rival factions.

A villager, who requested not to be identified for fear of victimization, explained how the drama un-folded: “The late Tshibvakule was born here in this village. He also attended school here and he went to work in Gauteng for a long time. He got sick in Gauteng and he was taken back to the local Tshilidzini hospital so that he could be near his family members. He died on the 9th of this month and funeral preparations started without any suspicions. Daily prayers were held until the deceased was taken from the mortuary on Friday, for his burial on Saturday. Then came a court interdict forbidding Tshibvakule’s funeral, because the other royal council claims that the deceased was not a bona fide citizen of the village. How can they say that they don’t know him while his father, Ratombo, was also buried there? This power struggle has gone so far and something needs to be done for the benefit of the village.”

The source said they tried to take the body for burial on Saturday morning but there were police officers at the graveyard who came to execute the court order. “Graveyard workers stopped mixing the mortar and the funeral was called off. Tshibvakule’s body was taken back to the mortuary. His soul will never rest in peace until he is brought back and laid to rest alongside his father. If there are differences, we better resolve them peacefully, rather than punish the innocent corpse.”

Members of the other royal council, one of whom is alleged to have applied for the court order, were uncooperative and refused to comment about the matter. “This has nothing to do with the newspapers and we will not give you any information. You can write what you like, but we will never allow you to go to take pictures in the graveyard,” said one of them, who even refused to give his name.

Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi of the Vhembe Police said the matter is now in the hands of the court and police only went there to execute the interdict.

* Tshibvakule’s body was still lying in the mortuary at the time of going to press.