Heartless thugs dug up a grave during the night and stole the remains of Nyatshavhungwa Kumedzani of Makonde-Shadani, north of Thohoyandou, over the weekend.

Family members could not believe their eyes when they visited the graveside for the preparations of a tombstone erection ceremony. Ironically, the open grave is just a few metres from where Maanda Sendedza and Nyelisani Sidimela were attacked by ritual murderers.

"What was my grandmother’s grave was reduced to a big hole and all her remains were gone. We only found a small piece of a skull, which I think the thugs might have left by mistake. We are hurt, depressed and bemused. How on earth could a normal person do this to us? We also found an empty home made beer (mahafhe) container next to the grave and this gave us the impression that the thugs were drinking while digging up the grave," said Tshinakaho Rammbofheni, the deceased old lady’s granddaughter.

One of the bemused family members, Reckson Rammbofheni, said: "We wanted to put up a tombstone for our beloved grandmother, who passed away in 1967. The grave was never dug as deep as people do today. My grandmother was never buried in a coffin but her body was only wrapped in a blanket at that time. I still remember clearly when we only put up some stones around the grave because there were no tombstones at that time. We were surprised when we visited the grave and found that the stones had been removed and there was a big hole in the grave."

Reckson said all the bones of the deceased were gone. "Human bones never decompose and you can find them after 100 years of burial. We believe it was done by somebody who knows the place very well because my grandmother was buried at the place where we used to stay some years ago. How can a person in a normal state of mind steal an innocent skeleton from the grave? I believe this is worse than ritual murder itself. These people want to use my grandmother’s bones for muti purposes. They will never become rich by using human body parts."

Reckson said the family would not rest until they find out who stole the remains of their loved one. "Our tombstone-erection ceremony was halted because of these senseless thugs who do not respect the deceased. The truth is yet to come out and someone will have to give an account for the whole mess."

Makonde-Shadani’s acting traditional leader, Mahodze Ravhura, said she was shocked when members of the Rammbofheni family reported the bad news to her. "This is the first shocking incident of grave interference ever to take place here. They firstly came and informed me that they were going to erect a tombstone at the grave but they came back in tears, telling me the horrible news. This is very disturbing but I believe that the perpetrators will be found and brought to book."

Upon learning this from Mirror, Vhembe police spokesperson Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi said the police were not aware of the incident. He advised the family to visit the nearest police station to register a grave interference case so that investigations can be started as a matter of urgency.