Widow stops burial of husband's granny in his grave

A widow has opened a case of violation of a grave and theft after her in-laws allegedly reopened her late husband’s 12-year-old grave to bury another relative.

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, which manages cemeteries in the city, conceded to have bungled the reburial application which is likely to cost it thousands of rand for the reinstalling of a tombstone.  

Sihle Sibisi, 36, was horrified when she visited her late husband’s grave at the Westpark Cemetery in Montgomery Park on July 6 to find it wide open and the coffin slightly exposed.

She said  the tombstone was missing.

“I was so disturbed that I lost my mind and went into an immediate panic attack. A security guard at the cemetery said some people had come about 6pm the previous day to dig up the grave to make it ready for a second burial on July 7.

“I was shown an affidavit with my in-laws name on it but they never consulted with me,” Sibisi said.

Her husband Tshepo Mnwana died in 2009 and his father Jacob Mphaga, 72, paid for the funeral and the grave.

Mphaga, who was not married to his son’s mother (Nompumelelo Mnwana), said before the alleged tampering of the grave incident he was informed of the death of Nompumelelo Mnwana’s mother.

“Her family wanted to bury my son’s granny on top of my son and I rejected it. I informed the widow about this. Her lawyer advised her to prepare an affidavit stating that the grave must not be touched by anybody. In the presence of the police, the affidavit was served to Mnwana and to Westpark on July 4,” Mphaga said.

“I Sihle Sibisi hereby make this affidavit to express my wishes that I do not give consent to Ms Nompumelelo Mnwana, the mother of my late husband, that his grave/tombstone must be opened for purposes of her mother who is my late husband’s grandmother to be buried over him,” read the affidavit in part.

Sibisi said she went back to the cemetery on July 7 to get answers from the management and confirm her husband’s coffin had not been tampered with.

“A cemetery employee confirmed that the coffin was still intact. We spoke with [City Parks] manager Reggie Moloi and he apologised and shouldered responsibility.

“He said they would send us a CCTV footage showing what exactly happened when my husband’s grave was violated. We still have not received that video,” Sibisi said.

The tombstone has since been returned to the cemetery.

Gauteng police spokesperson Cpt Kay Makhubele confirmed a case of grave violation had been opened but there have been no arrests.

Mnwana’s cousin, Dumisani Ndhlovu, who applied for the reburial, said they had buried the deceased grandmother at another cemetery.

“We had initially wanted to bury her on top of her grandson but there was a change of plan after seeing the resistance from the widow. We never dug that grave and the widow is in a better position to tell who did it,” Ndhlovu.

Moloi accepted that their employee who approved the reburial application had bungled the process.

He said Mphaga was registered as the rightful owner of his son’s grave and no reburial should have been allowed without his consent which is normally given in person or through an affidavit.

“It was an oversight and lapse of judgment on our side because the person that approved the application was filling in for another employee.

“We have accepted the responsibility and offered to take cost for the reinstallation of the tombstone. We are waiting for a service provider to be appointed and then do the work,” Moloi said.