Grave discovery

THE DISCOVERY of mass graves six months ago on a KZN South Coast farm poses an intriguing puzzle, and a great challenge for science and investigators in solving it. Are these the remains of prison labourers who toiled there, as KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial executive committee appears to suspect? Locals, who have disclosed that they knew all along of the farm’s secret, certainly believe they are.

Then there is the question of how they died: were they the victims of murderous cruelty? Or, did they die naturally, over many years? When and how were they buried – callously discarded and tossed in muddy holes, or sent off with the respect that humans deserve?

It will be fascinating to learn what went on there. Is this a site of atrocity, part of our historic shame?

The province has ordered a multidisciplinary probe. Experts have agreed on the importance of preserving the integrity of the area to allow science to provide many of the answers.

Are our state investigators up to the advanced detection this demands?

We have seen policemen in years past picking up bullet cartridges with their bare hands, and literally trampling sites that might hold vital clues.

THERE has not been much evidence of the elaborate laboratory suits, masks, shoe covers, tents and careful cordons that characterise crime scenes in Britain, for instance.

We trust that the graves have been shielded in recent months as the necessary forensic work was arranged. There is history in that ground, a chapter that may depend on a button or threads to explain.

It will require skill and patience. Experts would probably be delighted to assist in the hunt for answers should state investigators need it.