A community of Mbutfu at Lubulini in the Lubombo region has been left shaken after a grave believed to be about 53 years old was dug up, exposing human remains, clothes and a blanket used to wrap the deceased.
The disturbing discovery was made on Wednesday morning when a community member preparing land for grazing noticed a pile of soil not far from the area where a Shongwe family once resided.
At first, the mound of soil did not appear unusual and some members of the community suspected that a pit latrine could have been dug at the homestead.
However, closer inspection revealed something far more disturbing.
What appeared to be a newly dug pit was in fact a grave, with a fraction of human bones exposed together with remnants of clothes and a blanket that had been used to wrap the deceased, who had reportedly been buried without a coffin.
The discovery immediately left members of the community searching for answers about whose grave had been disturbed and who could have carried out such an act.
One of the community’s elderly members, Umsumpe, 75-year-old Sigwili Masuku, was consulted to helo identity the deceased.
Masuku reportedly led members of the community to Nsubane, where the Shongwe family had relocated. The children of the deceased were found at the relocated homestead and were subsequently called to the scene after the grave was identified as that of their father.
Police were also reported to have attended the scene, where they took photographs and made enquiries surrounding the grave.
Community members shared that the incident has raised questions over who could have dug up the grave and what their intentions were, particularly as the Shongwe family had long since relocated from the homestead.
The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) through their official facebook page has since confirmed that an enquiry file into the violation of a grave is under investigation at Lubulini Police Station.
According to the police, the matter was reported by a 50-year-old man from Mbutfu on Wednesday, at about 9:50am after the discovery. REPS has condemned the violation of the grave, describing it as a serious offence and an affront to human dignity and cultural values.
Police have reminded members of the public that a grave may only be disturbed or a corpse exhumed through lawful authority, including a court order depending on the circumstances and determination of a competent court.
Any unauthorised exhumation or tampering with a grave is illegal and punishable by law.
The investigation is continuing as police seek to establish who disturbed the grave and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
‘We are banking our hopes on police’
“We are banking our hopes on the police as we need to know who dug the grave and what their intentions were,” said Masuku.
He said this was the first incident of its kind in the community and that all those who went to look at the grave after its discovery were shocked by what they found. Masuku said, if it were up to her, the children would be determined to find out who was behind everything, even if they had to use their last cent to get answers. Asked whether anyone had seen anything suspicious, Masuku said some community members were mumbling among themselves and trying to recall what they may have seen.
However, he said they were hoping the police would get to the bottom of the matter.
