Kimberley – Concern has been expressed about the management of the West End Cemetery amidst allegations that old grave plots are possibly being sold, after it was discovered that several graves have apparently “gone missing”.
A Kimberley family this past weekend resorted to taking drone footage of the cemetery, after initially being unable to locate the grave of a loved one buried there in 1941.
Steve and Andrew Lawrence expressed shock at the fact that areas, where there there had been old graves, had been completely flattened to make way for a road running across a section in the Methodist Block of the cemetery.
The two brothers stated that their mother, Gwen Lawrence, had often visited the grave of her sister “as it was all that she had left of her” but recent visits to the cemetery had raised concerns about the management of the facility.
“While the acting chief of Parks and Recreation, Deon Moeti, was very helpful in assisting us in locating my aunt’s grave, it was obvious that graves adjacent to hers had been levelled, apparently to make way for an access road, which seemingly goes over existing graves,” said Steve.
“We even found the grave markers for these, which had been covered by soil.”
He added that what he found disturbing was the fact that had the family not kicked up a fuss, the real state of what was happening at West End Cemetery may have gone unnoticed.
“Roads are being cordoned off and new graves are being dug in a facility that was declared full some 25 years ago. The vandalism and disrepair is evident, with a once-beautiful mausoleum terribly vandalised. We also uncovered new graves being dug on either side of access roads.”
The family used their visit at the weekend to take drone footage of the area, in an attempt to document the current situation, and with the intention of returning in a few months so that changes can be monitored.
The two brothers expressed concern that apparent “unattended” graves in the area were being flattened and the plots possibly sold off to funeral directors, as the cemetery is full.
Their suspicions about this “double use of plots” are further fuelled by the fact that there are now graves dug as recently as late 2016 standing alongside graves from the 1930s and 1940s, adjacent to the flattened strip.
“It is beyond belief what is happening here – even the records seem to be in a shambles.
“The original records are being kept at the Africana Library and the records at the cemetery, which have been manually put in from the original, contain obvious mistakes, for example, surnames in some instances have been incorrectly spelt.”
The Sol Plaatje Municipality announced in 2012 already that both the ABC and West End cemeteries in the city had reached their capacity.
However, figures provided to the Sol Plaatje Municipality indicate that burials are still being done every month at the West End Cemetery.
In the December agenda of the Sol Plaatje City Council’s Community Services meeting, it was stated that in September last year there were 21 new grave burials of adults at the cemetery and one new burial for a baby.
In May last year, there were 24 new grave burials for adults and four for babies at West End, while in June there were 29 new grave burials for adults and two for babies. In July there were 33 adults buried and two babies and the following month, in August, there were 36 adults buried and one baby.
Municipal spokesman, Sello Matsie, confirmed on Tuesday that West End Cemetery was full to capacity. “There are exceptions in that some previous areas, which had been reserved for roads, are now being utilised for new graves where possible,” he added.
Matsie said that like other cemeteries, including ABC and Roodepan, the West End Cemetery was mainly being used for burials where the deceased are buried in the same grave as other family members. “This practice is one that is encouraged across the country due to lack of space at graveyards.
Matsie stated that the records of the grave sites at the Africana Library were of world-class standard.
He further appealed to the community to share some of the responsibility for the situation at the cemetery.
“Some of our graves are desecrated by people who have turned the area into a rubbish dump. The vandalism of tombstones is also at an all-time high.”
Matsie said that while care was taken in conducting routine maintenance it was “like fighting a losing battle”.