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By Thobeka Ngema 
13h ago
Durban – THE Meyiwa and Nakasa families wonder who was behind the desecration of the tombstones of former goalkeeper Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates Senzo Meyiwa and journalist and writer Nat Nakasa in Chesterville Cemetery.
The two are buried diagonally from each other in the Heroes Acre section of the cemetery.
Meyiwa’s tombstone was unveiled more than six weeks ago, while Nakasa was reburied in Durban in 2014.
Images of the destroyed tombstones were posted on Twitter by Bafana Bafana after noon on Boxing Day.
Many believe that the tombstones, especially that of Meyiwa, were vandalized.
However, on social media, others have suggested what could be behind the desecration of the tombstones, in addition to the vandalism.
Some have suggested that the damage could have been caused by livestock or inclement weather or as a result of poor workmanship.
Thembinkosi Ngcobo, the head of Parks, Recreation and Culture of the municipality of eThekwini, said they learned of the vandalism on Christmas morning.
“In this case, it’s obvious whoever did it was pointing at those headstones, because they are Nat Nakasa and Senzo Meyiwa,” Ngcobo said.
“To us, it seems that when someone does this, it is to make a statement, and that statement could be related to their dissatisfaction with something about the person buried there or their family, or they owe them something, or there is a conflict. in the family.
“It’s not something they just do. In this case you can see that he was attacked because other tombstones were not affected, in addition to those two. “
Ngcobo said that in terms of the law and its statutes, it was a crime to damage the tombstones.
“We want to appeal to those who may know about this to let us know. We want to assure the community that although our cemeteries do not have cameras, we do have security. It seems that in this case they entered through a hole in the back of the cemetery. The grave is next to a residential area, ”said Ngcobo.
“We want the public to know that all of our cemeteries are protected, but if they need cameras, we will consider doing so.”
Ngcobo said that what surprised them was that the cemeteries near the municipalities did not have problems of vandalism or desecration. What they saw in Chesterville was unusual. “Vandalism often occurs in cemeteries near nightclubs or where young people return from having a good time. They do it openly and destroy tombstones, while others steal the granite ”.
Senzo’s brother, Sifiso Meyiwa, said the vandalism has left them worried and confused, and they don’t know what is happening.
Meyiwa said they planned to open a case yesterday.
“The police will solve this because they have to investigate to find out who did this,” Meyiwa said.
He said Ngcobo called him on Boxing Day and told him what had happened. Ngcobo went to check the tombstone and informed Meyiwa that the culprits had not planned to steal the tombstone but to destroy it.
Meyiwa said they also went to see the damage.
“We saw someone hit him. They have their own agenda that we don’t know about, ”he said.
Nakasa’s brother, Pat Nakasa, said it was the first time he had heard about the vandalism of his brother’s tombstone.
“It is very painful and we do not know why it was destroyed,” he said. I’ll send some of the men to take a look.
Police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said they had consulted with Cato Manor police and that no cases of vandalism had been reported.
Daily News
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