(MENAFN- The Post)
MASERU – THERE was chaos at the Lifelekoaneng cemetery in Ha-Mabote last Friday after the police ganged up with Maseru City Council (MCC) officials to fight villagers over the burial of a deceased woman.
The villagers had dug a grave to bury one of their own with the chief's permission but the MCC argued the whole procedure was illegal.
The MCC then brought an excavator and filled the freshly dug grave with soil, torching violent scenes at the gravesite.
The villagers threw stones at the police but lost the battle and the grave was eventually filled with soil.
The deceased was 'Malethoko Lebeko. Her family had dug a grave and were preparing for the burial when the MCC attacked.
A family member, Mokhethi Lebeko, said the family felt disrespected by how the MCC handled the matter.
“We are yet to meet as a family to decide what steps to take next,” Lebeko said.
He said they are still reeling after the police fired shots at their family.
“They were at the cemetery where they filled up the grave but later came down to shoot us for no reason,” Lebeko said.
“Why did they come here at our home to shoot a family that was in mourning?” he asked.
He argued that the cemetery was closed previously but was later opened by the area chief and the councillor.
Lebeko said the police and MCC failed to give them a document showing that the cemetery was closed.
He said if the MCC had furnished them with the court order not to proceed with the digging, they would have stopped.
He said nothing of that sort happened until the police officers came to destroy the grave.
“In our culture, we respect our parents' graves,” Lebeko said.
He said they are taking the incident personally because the MCC and police failed to give their mother the respect she deserved.
Lebeko said those who attacked them must not forget that they also live in communities like them.
“They do not live with their officers. That is all I can say,” he said.
The village chief, Matjato Makhetha, said the incident showed that the authorities had failed to work together.
The chief said he tried to negotiate with the MCC not to destroy the grave but all was in vain.
He said the municipality never listened to him.
This saw the MCC and the community members locked in a scuffle.
After the negotiations failed, a group of armed police officers came with an excavator to fill up the grave.
“The community tried to stop their evil deed but they refused to listen,” Chief Makhetha said.
He said the irate community fought back by throwing stones at the police.
After they lost the battle, the family ended up doing a top-on-top burial – that is burying 'Malethoko on top of her husband who died over eight years ago in the same grave.
The MCC spokesperson, 'Makatleho Mosala, said it is not true that the aggrieved family came to their office seeking a permit to bury their mother there.
Mosala said they told the family that the cemetery was closed and they could only allow them to do a 'top-on-top' form of burial.
She said after the explanation, the family decided to bury their loved one on top of her husband who died earlier.
She said the family was asked to provide a letter of approval from the family so that they would know how the applicants are related to the deceased.
“Regrettably, they never came back to us,” she said.
She said they have to establish the relationship between the applicants and the deceased.
“We also have to know how the one to be buried on top relates to the one previously buried,” Mosala said.
Instead of doing top-on-top burial, the family went ahead and dug a fresh grave.
Mosala said they tried to communicate with them to go to another graveyard but they refused.
She said there was nothing wrong with the MCC filling the grave that had already been dug up.
She said the cemetery was never re-opened.
She said they only introduced the top-on-top method of burial at Lifelekoaneng cemetery.
Nkheli Liphoto
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