A Limpopo family is baffled after discovering the grave of their loved one in Senakwe section in Mokwakwaila was dug open and the corpse stolen.
The family had gone to the cemetery on Sunday to clean the gravesite of Modike Phillemon Masedi in preparation for the upcoming unveiling of his tombstone this weekend.
They were shocked, however, to find that the tombstone was standing, but the grave had been dug open and the casket emptied. The remains of Masedi, who died on January 15 2022 and was buried seven days later, were nowhere to be found.
“We can't continue with the unveiling without knowing who we are doing it for because the body is not there. In our family, we perform rituals [to keep connection between the living and ancestors]. Who are we going to introduce [our children] to?” asked the deceased's daughter, Malehu Masedi, 51.
Explaining what they found, Masedi said: “When we got there, we found that the grave was dug out. There was a tunnel dug and bricks removed. They [suspects] went inside the grave, removed the lid of the coffin and took the body. They used a pick to dig out the grave. Police and forensics were called, and they confirmed there was no body [inside].”
Limpopo police have opened cases of theft and violation of a grave. Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said the motive for the crime is unknown at this stage.
“We have questions but don't have answers. We ask ourselves why this happened at the last minute knowing that we are going to have an unveiling. We don’t have answers,” said Malehu.
She said the family has no idea who could be behind this. “We don't have a suspect. As a family, we also took it to the community to alert them that such things are happening. We used to visit the grave a lot. Even in December we went there,” she added.
It was not just their grave that had been vandalised. Malehu said it was discovered that another grave had been dug but the corpse left behind.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe has expressed shock and ordered that the perpetrator(s) be brought to book.
Meanwhile, the family of the missing Masedi says life has come to a halt.
“We feel bad. We can't even eat. When we went to clean the grave we went there carrying food to eat, but we came back with the food and could not eat. When someone talks about this ... I start feeling pain,” said Malehu.
“We are not coping. It’s like a second tragedy because we cried when my father was sick and died and now we wanted to heal, but that grief is now back.”
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