A QUNU resident points to a simple structure not far from his house. “This is where Madiba wants to be buried,” he told Daily Sun. The man, who did not want to be named, said construction at the site started in 2008. “The construction company hired local people to dig the grave,” he said. “Madiba used to walk to the site to inspect the progress.” He said not many residents knew about the grave. “Those who built it were told to keep quiet about it. There are no graves around the site Madiba chose.” Yesterday, men were seen cleaning the site and two vehicles arrived to inspect it. On Wednesday photographers arrived on a hillside overlooking the site to take pictures of the site and Madiba’s house, but police chased them away. A road is under construction leading from the N2 and linking to a road which leads to the grave. ) The chief of Qunu, Nokwanele Balizulu, has confirmed that she granted permission to the Mandela family to exhume the remains of Madiba’s son Makgatho and his siblings Thembekile and Makaziwe from their graves in Mvezo and to rebury them in Qunu. Speaking to City Press, Balizulu said that Madiba’s daughter Makaziwe approached her on Tuesday to write two letters one asking permission to exhume the remains from Mvezo and the other to rebury them in Qunu. “I gave the letters to a funeral parlour they have appointed,” Balizulu said. “I don’t have a problem with the remains being brought back, but I have a problem that the bodies were dug up so disrespectfully. Mandla just went to the gravesite and dug up the remains. People in the village even refused to be part of the process because it had been done in such an undignified manner.” Mandla could not be reached for comment as his phone rang unanswered.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 07:38:03 +0000
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