EKURHULENI Municipality has allegedly neglected cemeteries, and the grass is so big that it's harbouring snakes and criminals.
Grieving families duck snakes and cannot pray or perform rituals for fear of being bitten.
Some families said they even struggle to see their loved one's graves because of the long grass. Not only are ordinary people buried there, but even ANC struggle heroes' graves are among those neglected.
As Easter is approaching, many families are planning to visit their loved ones' graves at cemeteries, but they say the state of cemeteries makes them think twice.
"The grass is so long that we struggle to find our loved ones' graves. We're paying rates and taxes, which is not how we expect cemeteries to be.
"My uncle saw the snake slipping away from our graves, and we had to leave. We didn't do what we came for. We just placed flowers and left," said Ishmael Motsumi.
"This is really disappointing to see that our cemeteries are neglected like this. You can clean your own, but what about those that are close by."
At the Wattville cemetery, the grass is also long and the Zwane family said they struggled to find their loved one's grave.
"This is really annoying; we ask ourselves what the hell has happened," said Brenda Nhlapo.
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"We drove around for more than 10 minutes looking for our loved one's grave and when we finally got to the spot, it was difficult to just walk in because we exposed ourselves to being bitten by snakes," she said.
Residents in Wattville said they're being mugged by thugs who hide among the long grass as they pass in the cemetery.
"We pass through the cemetery to get to the other side but find thugs waiting for us. I was pointed with a knife by a thug who demanded my cellphone," said a resident.
"We appeal to the municipality to clean the cemetery. This is unacceptable."
Spokesman for Ekurhuleni Municipality Zweli Dlamini said the process of cleaning graves is underway and they have already started in other areas.
"We appeal to the members of the public to be patient and we definitely on the way to clean their cemeteries," Dlamini said.
