FARMER PLANTS MANGOES ON GRAVES
WHITES’ BURIAL SITES NOT BULLDOZED
A FAMILY is at loggerheads with a farmer on the land next to their plot after he allegedly destroyed their ancestral graves to make way for mango trees.
Members of the Seleise family in Deerpark outside Tzaneen in Limpopo are accusing farmer Rian du Plessis of vandalising the graves and denying them the right to visit them.
Police spokeswoman in Limpopo Colonel Ronel Otto confirmed yesterday that the family has opened a violation of graves case at Letsitele police station.
Otto said the docket had been finalised and they were awaiting a decision from prosecutors.
Johanna Seleise, 93, whose family had lived in the area for generations, said she had to watch in horror as the graves of her father, mother and greatgrandmother were flattened. She said the previous owner had allowed them access to the farm to visit the graves. However, things changed when Du Plessis bought the farm about 10 years ago.
“It breaks my heart. I used to go there and clean the graves myself. But now I’m being refused entry. I was told that there were no graves for black people on that land … only white people’s graves.”
Seleise said she would not know what to tell her 25 grandchildren and 11 greatgrandchildren should they ever ask her questions about the graves of their ancestors. “What will I show them? There is nothing to show them. I will tell them that I do not know. It feels like we are still living under apartheid,” she said.
When Sowetan visited yesterday, farmworkers were busy in a field of what appeared to be young mango tree plants. This is where Seleise said three of her family members were buried. The area was enclosed with a high fence with warning signs against trespassing.
Seleise’s son Abraham, who opened a case with the police, said the family had erected brick structures to mark the graves but Du Plessis allegedly mowed them down with a bulldozer to make way for the trees.
Abraham said their family was one of many who have been affected by the alleged vandalism.
However, Du Plessis said the allegations were not true. He said there was never any evidence to prove there were graves on the farm. “They could not prove that there were graves there. I don’t have a problem with people visiting their graves … I think graves should be respected.”
He said the only way to resolve the issue would be to investigate further.
He said the graves belonging to white people were spared by the bulldozers because they could easily be identified through tombstones.
“They could not prove that there were graves there