Tshwane - Dependence on the drug nyaope is so great that some addicts will steal from cemeteries to ensure their next fix.
Addicts are said to be stealing steel from palisade fences to fund their drug habits.
City of Tshwane spokesman Lindela Mashigo said that despite security at city cemeteries, there had been incidents of fencing being broken down and stolen. He said the suspects were, for the large part, believed to be nyaope addicts who sold the steel from the palisade to scrap metal dealers for cash. An example can be found at the Atteridgeville Cemetery in Maunde Street. The cemetery is fenced using concrete palisade but about 200 metres from the entrance a portion of the fence has been vandalised.
The fence had been broken down and parts of the steel inside the concrete removed. Owing to the vandalism, there is a gap in the fence large enough to let people in.
Nyaope can be bought for between R30 and R50 a portion depending on the type. It consists of a mixture of marijuana, ARV tablets, methamphetamine or heroin and household products like Vim cleaning agent. It is highly addictive.
The Hlahla family of Atteridgeville know first hand what it is like to be the victim of theft by nyaope addicts. Brenda Hlahla Lengoasa said they were shocked to see that people had vandalised her father’s tombstone before it could get unveiled early last year. Four weeks before the tombstone was due to be unveiled, the aluminium frames of the housing they had erected over her father’s tomb were stolen.
“There is a security guard there but we don’t know how they stole the frames. When we told the people working at the cemetery they said it was not the first time something like that had happened.
“They also said there was nothing they could do about it,” she added.
“We replaced everything with different frames, not aluminium because it’s expensive and that is what they are after. We got cheaper frames and we’ve not had a problem since,” she said.
The city reports such incidents to the police for insurance purposes.
Pretoria News
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