Vandals dig up graves in Odzi Cemetery

Zim Now Writer

Residents of Odzi Township in Manicaland Province are in awe following incidents of vandals digging up graves at the Odzi Cemetery.

In the latest incident, relatives of 98-year-old Gogo Cecilia Makaza, who was buried on December 12 after succumbing to diabetes and asthma, were shocked to see her grave dug up and the coffin with her remains dumped at an open space at Odzi Cemetery.

To date, 12 known graves have been violated in the cemetery, with 11 of them being of elderly women.

Gift Makaza, a son to the deceased granny, said they were yet to come to terms with the bizarre incident as this is the second time the grave has been desecrated since his mother’s burial on December 12.

“She was buried on December 12, but on December 14, we discovered that the grave had been violated. We went to the police and asked if we could open the coffin to see if anything was amiss on the body, but we were ordered not to do so. We went to the grave and refilled the soil that had been removed from our mother’s grave,” said Makaza.

He also said they were shocked on Wednesday when they found that grave had been dug again, but this time the coffin having been exposed and opened. He said its screws had been removed.

“We alerted the police and they gave us the nod to open the coffin and find out if our late mother’s body was still intact. We opened the coffin and discovered that the body was not tampered with. However, the shroud which we buried her with was not wrapped around her. It had been removed and was placed on top of her body. The shroud covering her head was also removed,” he said.

Makaza said there was a trail of blood in the graveyard and the trail led them to where the tools that had been used to dig up had been hidden.

Mutare Rural District Council representative for Ward 31, Councillor Maclean Murauro, said that same night, the vandals had tried, without success, to dig up three more graves.

“We are suspecting that these people are doing this for rituals. This is not the work of artisanal gold miners like what others are suspecting. It is clear that they want something from the dead bodies.

“We have tombstones being removed from their graves and others being broken using iron bars. Most of the targeted graves are of elderly women who died in the early 2000s, save for Gogo Makaza and two others who died this month,” he said.

Councillor Murauro said the community is engaging the traditional leadership on the way forward.

Brandina Nyamanhindi, who is Headman Nyamanhindi, said they will consult Chief Makoni over the bizarre issue: “There is need to consult Chief Makoni over this issue because we are in his area. He has no idea of what is happening here. However, I suspect foul play. We need to sit down as a community and raise money so that we can consult Chief Makoni,” said Headman Nyamanhindi.