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Gravediggers fleece mourners to make a living
Sandra Mandizvidza, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
January 17, 2008

http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=8364&siteid=1

Onismo Murewa (59), endured the agony and indignity of waiting more than one week to bury his brother-in-law.

As a struggling builder, Murewa, of Glen View, Harare, could not raise enough money to pay the undertakers to "fast track" his relative's burial.

If he had been a superstitious person, he would have been haunted by the tortured soul of the deceased, howling at him from the back of the beyond: "Why are you punishing me?"

Sober, if a little frustrated, Murewa said last week: "My brother-in-law died and I went to book a grave at Granville cemetery. I was told to return after five days because there were no ready graves that time.

"I tried to negotiate with them, but they refused, probably because I had no money."

Murewa's plight is a microcosm of the many nightmares of Harare residents being fleeced of their hard-earned cash by corrupt gravediggers at council cemeteries.

At Granville cemetery, aka KuMbudzi on the outskirts of Harare, you either pay twice to bury your loved one or face the anguish and even terror of spending days with the corpse in the house.

Mortuary fees have shot up beyond the reach of many, leaving most people with no choice but to pay what West Africans used to call "dash" to cut on mortuary fees and other funeral expenses.

An ordinary grave for an adult at Granville Cemetery costs $57 million, while that for an infant costs $28 million — nothing to be sneezed at these days.

If you want the process to be "fast tracked", cough up an extra $50 million and your wish will be granted instantly.

A number of gravediggers at the cemetery off the Harare-Masvingo road admitted to The Standard they were making money from death, but pleaded for understanding for their ghoulish profits: it was the only way they could survive under the deadly, hyperinflationary environment.

"My sister," said one of them, "we earn less than $100 million a month. How can you expect us to survive? If someone comes and offers you $50 million to bury a relative quickly, can you refuse?"

He spoke only on the understanding that he would not be quoted by name.

Others who had neglected to make that request of the media had subsequently lost their jobs, he said.

The Standard spoke to mourners at the sprawling cemetery: they complained the graves were being dug too shallow.

If they wanted them dug deeper, they said, they were asked to pay more, to the gravediggers.

"We were told that we had to wait for a while as 'something' was being done on the grave. We later paid to have the grave dug deeper," said Precious Kagoro of Dzivaresekwa.

But the gravediggers dismissed the allegations, saying a normal grave they were supposed to dig was "5.2 feet and seven feet" for a double grave.

Unlike in the past when the place was always crowded with people burying their relatives, the cemetery had few mourners when The Standard visited it last week.

The gravediggers blamed the city council, saying it did not want to employ more gravediggers.

"The problem here is manpower," said a gravedigger. "We are less than 15 workers here and that is why we just dig a few graves for a few burials these days."

But the assistant curator at the cemetery, Clement Kudzamaoko, claimed there was no shortage of labour. He blamed the situation on the high death rate in the city.

"The death rate these days is alarming and that is why we have problems of graves ready for burial," he said.

Kudzamaoko said officially they allowed people to buy graves and wait for 24 hours before burial.

But some mourners said they had been told to wait up to 72 hours.

The gravediggers said their problems were not being addressed and most of them were constantly sick because of the dust they inhaled during the digging of the graves.

"Just look at us!" said one. "We look like people born of the same mother. We are all thin. Our health is at risk as we are not given milk to cleanse our chests."

He claimed a number of gravediggers had died of tuberculosis caused by their exposure to too much dust. Others were ailing.

Kudzamaoko confirmed the gravediggers were not getting the much-needed milk because of the tough economic conditions in the country.

Corruption at cemeteries throughout the country is reportedly rampant, as is the theft of council property from the graveyards.

Gravediggers, mostly in the large cities, have been accused of going back to the cemeteries at night after the burials, to steal coffins for resale.

At Granville cemetery, one mourner is said to have been bitten by a snake last week. According to the gravediggers this is because there is no one to cut the long grass.

In 2005, several people were arrested and convicted of digging graves at Mabvuku cemetery and stealing garments from the corpse of a toddler.

Harare City Council director of Housing and Community Service, Justin Chivavaya, declined to comment, saying he was new on the job.

Efforts to get a comment from Harare Town Clerk, Tendai Mahachi, were also fruitless as he said he was busy attending meetings.

Meanwhile, although the poet John Donne once wrote "Death be not proud", the gravediggers would not join him in that plea, appealing instead to Death to help them make a little money on the side, in a country where extra income can be made from anything, including . . . Death.

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