Grave concern

*Gaping hole in a tomb shocks villagers

*Family suspect witchcraft

A family from Ramokgwebana is desperate for answers following a strange, slightly sinister discovery at the village graveyard last Thursday.

58-year-old Baledzi Kamocha and his colleagues unexpectedly found out that his uncle Rodgers Kgosietsile Masaka’s grave had been tampered with.

“There was a huge gaping hole which was covered in a white cloth. What caught our attention were the several spike-like-needles used to pin down the cloth,” revealed a bemused Kamocha.

He said initially they suspected a cave-in but quickly ruled that out.

“I’ve been here long enough to know what a cave-in looks like. Clearly you can see that soil was scooped out to create an opening,” he said, pausing dramatically before adding in a hushed whisper, “It’s witchcraft!

“No wonder it doesn’t rain in Ramokgwebana,” he continued with a sweeping hand gesture, simultaneously glancing at the dark clouds growling threateningly above the open grave.

At first glance nothing seems amiss with Masaka’s grave. On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear the grave has been disturbed.

The hole is visible and the white cloth has been rolled into a ball, its spikes protruding menacingly from all angles.

Masaka, 84, died on June 11 and was buried five days later.

According to his cousin Kesekile Jambo, 75, the elder, who worked for Ipelegeng at the time of his death, was ‘a man who never bothered anyone’.

“He lived alone. On the day that he died he had notified his colleagues at Ipelegeng that he was not well and would seek medical attention the next morning,” recalled Jambo, who has wrapped herself in a woolly blanket despite the stifling mid-day heat.

She told The Voice that the old man was discovered the following morning in his house and was certified dead.

“He died alone; his death still haunts me to this day,” she said, the pain obvious in her wrinkled, weather beaten face.

Visibly disturbed by the grave hole incident, Jambo made it clear she did not want to come too close to her cousin’s last resting place.

“This is a death trap. Those needles are bullets in the spirit. They are spears that will pierce one’s soul!”

In an emotional outpour, Jambo said she believes someone came and scooped the soil into a large container then set a trap for the deceased’s relatives.

“This was done deliberately. This person made no attempts to cover their tracks, and I’m worried that whoever tries to refill that hole will die,” she said, shivering nervously under her blanket.

The old lady has no idea who would want to harm the family.

“No wonder it doesn’t rain,” quipped Kamocha.

As if in response, large sparkling drops fell from the sky, the hissing sound of rain echoing around the dusty graveyard.

Within seconds, the heavens open and we all flee for the car to escape the downpour and continue with the interview.

“I think you’re the one who brought this rain. The grave was just waiting for you to take pictures. Now it can rain,” laughed Kamocha, the joy of ‘Pula’ momentarily washing away his worries.

With no answers coming forth, conspiracy theories are being thrown about as the family tries to come to terms with the bizarre occurrence.

In a brief interview with The Voice, Kgosi Mollen Dube of Ramokgwebana said he learnt about the grave last Friday.

“I went there to view it and I have advised the family to deal with the matter.”

Kgosi Dube said it was ‘an unnerving thing’ which he intends to address at his next Kgotla meeting.