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Why is it that when officials of Msunduzi Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal decided to remove tombstones from the graves of two struggle stalwarts, their family members were not informed?
That is the question which bothers the families of Moses Mabhida and Johnny Makhathini, two high-ranking leaders of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and ANC, respectively, who are buried at Heroes Acre in Imbali Township, Pietermaritzburg.
What was initially suspected to be a case of vandalism and theft of tombstones turned out to be a move undertaken by the municipality, which encompasses the city of Pietermaritzburg, following worries that the tombstones would cave in.
But that has not stopped Thuthukile Mabhida, the remaining daughter of the SACP stalwart, from complaining about the conduct of the municipality.
“We have never been told anything. It cannot be that as a family one gets to hear about it like this,” she said.
“Where have you ever heard of a tombstone getting removed without a family’s consent? This shows total disregard for us.”
When she visited the cemetery last week she noticed that the facility was not properly maintained.
It is about 2 kilometres away from the Mabhida household in Slangspruit near Imbali.
Msunduzi Municipality spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha said they were aware of the current state of the cemetery in terms of security and maintenance.
“We greatly regret that the Mabhida family had to experience this. However, we are doing our best to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,”she said.
Valerie Makhathini, Johnny Makhathini’s widow, reacted with shock to the news that her husband’s tombstone had been removed.
“I don’t know why people would do something like this and not appreciate the importance of informing the family concerned.
“This shows very little respect for cultural values of the family.”
She told City Press that she had received confirmation of the tombstone removal from a family member who had visited the grave.
SACP KwaZulu-Natal Secretary Themba Mthembu, who attended the Moses Mabhida lecture more than two weeks ago when the news about the tombstones started surfacing, said they were aware of the removal of the tombstones but did not know that the families were not updated on the matter.
He conceded that the matter had been handled recklessly by the people concerned.
“You cannot do anything to somebody’s grave without the family’s knowledge; it is just unheard of,” he said.
The SACP was going through the report on the matter. The party was considering lodging a complaint with the municipality because it believed that the two families were treated badly, he said.
Mabhida died in exile in Mozambique in 1986 and his remains were finally returned to South Africa in 2006.
Makhathini, who died in 1988 in Zambia, had his remains returned in February 2010.
At the time events celebrating the lives and reburials of both stalwarts were addressed by ANC leaders like, among others, former president Jacob Zuma.
Ross Devereux of Amafa – the province’s heritage body – was not available to comment on whether the body was aware of the removal of the two tombstones.
