The remains of a granny and her grandson who were burnt beyond recognition in a deadly arson attack were given a sad send-off by a multitude of emotional mourners at Makuya-Domboni, near Tshikondeni Mine, on Saturday.

They were placed in one coffin and buried at Makuya graveyard. Among the thousands of mourners were Limpopo’s MEC for Safety, Security and Liaison, Samson Ndou, Mutale Municipality Mayor Lucas Manyuha and Thovhele Ntsweteni Makuya.

Sundani Munyai (70) and her grandson Thatheni (12) were asleep in their mud-thatched hut when it was torched and reduced to ashes a week ago. Thatheni was a Grade 6 learner at the local Kariel Ngigideni Primary School and his grandmother was a respected member of the local Zion Christian Church (ZCC).

A quick breakthrough by the police led to the arrest of three suspects of the same family, aged between 26 and 41. Their bail application was refused when they briefly appeared at the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s court last week.

During the funeral, MEC Ndou said the government is concerned about the escalating serious and violent crimes in Vhembe. “We have lost beloved community members to serious and violent crimes in Vhembe in the past few months. This includes the chopping of people to death, ritual murder and arson attacks. We need to come together and work towards a common goal of eradicating crime in our communities. One cannot understand the motive of the cruelty that was done to the late grandmother and the little boy. We seriously condemn this type of behaviour because it is uncalled for. We cannot just watch while cruel people continue to maim our people senselessly. All criminals must be brought to book and face the consequences of their bad deeds.”

Ndou commended the police for their quick action shortly after the deadly arson attack. “Their quick and positive response clearly in-dicates that they are dedicated to protecting members of our communities. However, we urge community members to work closely with the police and provide any information that could lead to the arrest of all the criminals in our communities. It means you will be collaborating with the criminals if you do not expose them.”

The mayor of Mutale Municipality, Lucas Manyaha, said: “As a responsible municipality who cares for human life, we are deeply concerned about this horrible incident. That is why I have put aside everything to come and pledge my deepest sympathy to the family. We have been working together with the family since the incident and we are always there to assist them. We must all speak in one voice against crime to make our municipality a better place to stay and invest in. We are happy that suspects have been arrested and we are only waiting for the law to take its course.”

Trying to hold back tears, Thovhele Ntsweteni Makuya gave a strong warning to his subjects to refrain from calling other people witches. “We must all say no to this mentality of witchcraft because it is destroying our communities. It is wrong to point to someone as a witch because that is where enmity starts. This is the first incident of its kind in Makuya and I believe we will work together to make sure that it never happens again.”

Members of the ZCC, school kids, family members and sad community members could not hide their anger as the coffin was lowered into the cold earth at Makuya graveyard.