MADALA PHILLEMON had been dead for a year and it was time to celebrate his life with a tombstone.
But nothing could have prepared the Masedi family for what they found when they went to the grave.
A HOLE HAD BEEN DUG AT THE GRAVESITE, THE COFFIN HAD BEEN OPENED AND THE BODY WAS GONE!
The 83-year-old madala had died in January last year after a short illness. He was buried in the same month.
It was to be a happy event as the erection of tombstones is supposed to be – but the family members were confronted with a dreadful scene, worse than they could not have imagined.
The family members from Senakwe Village in Mokwakwaila outside Tzaneen, Limpopo, went to the graveyard to prepare the site for the unveiling on Saturday, 11 February, when they realised that bricks from the grave were removed.
They looked closely and found a hole dug on the side of the grave and the coffin was left wide open. The corpse was gone.
Madala Phillemon’s brother and family spokesman, Malehodi Masedi, said they were looking forward to unveiling the tombstone.
“This is very painful. We don’t know what the people who did this are going to do with my brother’s remains,” he said.
“Are they going to sell the body parts or will they perform rituals to curse our family? The people who did this have disturbed the spirit of madala Phillemon and angered our ancestors.”
The family often went to the cemetery to clean and check on it.
“My brother will not rest in peace until we find his remains. We are calling upon anyone with any information to come forward because we really need help,” he said.
The incident has left villagers reeling in disbelief as something like this had never happened in their village.
Modjadji Maolwe (54) said they feared that other graves may also be violated.
“We don’t know why someone would do something so cruel,” she said. The villagers have been gathering since Monday to search for the remains in the bushes.
Limpopo police spokesman Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said they had launched investigations into the violation of a grave and the theft of a corpse.
“Preliminary investigation conducted at the scene established that the suspects accessed the graveyard by cutting the side fence, dug a hole next to the grave, accessed the coffin and stole the corpse,” he said.
“The motive for this incident is unknown at this stage and cases of violation of grave and theft were opened.”
He said anyone with information must please contact Detective Commander Warrant Officer Nthai Modjadji on 060 996 0062 or 015 386 9940 or CrimeStop 08600 10111 or visit their nearest cop shop.
