Joy and sorrow as families rebury loved ones

Almost a year ago, the whole country was in shock after gruesome revelations of graves being dug up at night and body parts being stolen to be sold at Tshitavha and Folovhodwe outside Thohoyandou.

The shocking revelations came about after a 17-year-old local girl at Tshitavha, who had broken up with her boyfriend, started confiding in members of the community that the two of them used to wake up at night and go to the local graveyard. She further indicated that they would dig up the graves and steal some body parts, which they later sold to traditional healers.

The information circulated in the village, but it seemed the leadership did not want to act on it and she was not taken seriously, until the community showed their dissatisfaction by barricading roads and burning tyres. That was when the police intervened, and five graves were exhumed.

Some were found to have been violated.

Mr Alpheus Phundulu (71), who was buried in 2007, was found to be missing. His whole body had been stolen. Till now, his body has not been found.

Mr Alpheus Vhudzikadzika’s (73) head was stolen and has not yet been found.

After a long wait after the remains were taken for forensic tests, the families received the remains of their loved ones on Wednesday for reburial. They were properly buried by a renowned funeral undertaker.

Some family members said they were relieved that they were finally able to let their loved ones rest in peace.

One of the excited relatives is Mr Nthuseni Kwinda. His relative, Ms Grace Muridili (30), was found intact. He said the family was happy that, at long last, she would rest in peace. "We were having heavy hearts, knowing that we have a body in a mortuary. It is like we are having a second burial, but we are relieved it came to pass," he said.

The Phundulu family is not happy at all because their father is still missing.  Mr Fhatuwani Phundulu, the deceased's son, said the family was disappointed that the police were not able to locate his missing body, even though they had arrested suspects. "We need closure in this matter. The police must force the suspects to point out where they had sold my father. We would like to give him a decent funeral, because we know he is not resting in peace where he is. The police should do their job and bring back our father," he said.

Five suspects were arrested in connection with the cases. Among them are two traditional healers, who stand accused of violating graves and corpses and defeating the ends of justice.

Traditional healers Erick Kwinda (49), Avhapfani Nemungadi (42), Daniel Nephawe (23), Colbert Nemasisi (29) and a secondary school learner, Mathadzhila Munyai (20), were all arrested at different locations. Nephawe was arrested in the Western Cape.

The suspects have unsuccessfully applied for bail on numerous occasions. They remain in custody.

Date:19 March 2018

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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