The row centres
around Grave 19 in the Old Anglican Section of the cemetery, where both the
Saunyama and Somkence families claim their loved one was buried.
According to
the latest Health, Housing and Education Committee report, Florence Saunyama,
who died in 2003 aged 69, was laid to rest in the disputed grave.
However, a year
later, in 2004, Caleb Somkence was also buried in the same section — although
records do not show the exact location of his grave.
“The section
and fees books showed that the late Caleb Somkence (male, 73) was buried on the
10th of November 2004 in the old Anglican general section. However, the grave
number was not captured in both books. The family of Caleb Somkence had since
erected a tombstone on grave number 19 Anglican general section since they
believed that their deceased person was buried there,” the report read.
“A meeting was
held on the 8th of January 2025 with family representatives of the deceased
persons believed to be buried in grave 19 Old Anglican Section, West Park
Cemetery. The meeting recommended that to ascertain whose remains were in grave
19 there was a need for exhumation so that both families find closure on the
matter. There would be a need to exhume the nearby graves as well to determine
if the remains belonged to one of the two families.”
The council has
since authorised its health department to cover the costs of the exhumation exercise,
which may include checking nearby unmarked graves. CITE
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