Durban - The family of slain Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa says the eThekwini Municipality and national government had promised to take care of his funeral, including erecting a tombstone at his grave.
Meyiwa’s brother Sya told the Daily News on Sunday that they had trusted the government and believed that the then eThekwini officials would deliver on their promise. However, five years later that promise had proven to be a lie - as his brother’s grave was still without a tombstone, he said.
Despite being given a state funeral, there was nothing visible to indicate that the grave at Heroes Acre Cemetery in Chesterville was that of the former national hero.
A green-and-purple flower bed covers Meyiwa’s burial plot in the cemetery where some of the province’s heroes are laid to rest, but there is nothing to indicate who lies there.
eThekwini Parks department head Thembinkosi Ngcobo said although the city had plans to preserve the Heroes Acre cemetery, the decision to erect tombstones was the responsibility of families.
This comes amid AfriForum promising to investigate Meyiwa’s murder, as five years have passed without an arrest. Initial police reports claimed that Meyiwa was killed by armed robbers at his girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, on October 26, 2014.
Late last week it emerged that he may have been “accidentally” shot when he tried to intervene in a quarrel.
Sya said he remembered meetings held at the Meyiwa home in uMlazi, during the funeral arrangements, when both national and provincial government leaders, including eThekwini Municipality officials, came to offer their assistance. This, he said, included the burial plot and an offer to erect a tombstone.
“I remember that the family had already made a decision that Senzo would be buried in uMlazi, but the government motivated for Senzo to be given a state funeral,” said Sya.
He said Senzo’s father, Sam Meyiwa, had been in Johannesburg sorting out other funeral arrangements and had left the mandate that Senzo was to be buried in uMlazi, where he belonged.
Sya said the government and municipality “took over” and committed to take care of the burial and, later, his tombstone.
“When the officials visited the family and suggested that he be buried at Heroes Acre, we trusted the government and believed that they would also deliver on their promise to take care of everything, including the erection of the tombstone. We have now learnt that this government cannot be trusted,” he said.
Sya said the promises were not made on paper, which made it difficult for the family to hold the government accountable. Sya said the family were yet to discuss erecting the tombstone on their own.
Ngcobo said the municipality committed itself to preserve the Heroes Acre as part of the city’s heritage, and had plans to transform it into an “open air museum”.
“It’s not necessary for the graves there to have a tombstone - it’s up to the families whether they want to erect a tombstone. The municipality, however, does not have plans to erect tombstones. The cemetery is the resting place for some of the heroes with big stories that need to be preserved,” Ngcobo said.
Last week, AfriForum’s private prosecution unit announced it would be representing the Meyiwa family to bring Senzo Meyiwa’s killer to book.