The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is probing a disturbing incident at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare, where over 100 graves have been destroyed.
Over 100 Graves Destroyed At Warren Hills Cemetery
The Chief Parks and Cemeteries Officer, Godfrey Batsirai Munetsi, informed ZimLive that unidentified individuals have been entering the cemetery at night since Tuesday and destroying tombstones. It is still unclear why the suspects have been doing this.
Munetsi revealed:
“We have no concrete leads or the motive behind the desecration of graves, but we cannot rule out witchcraft because there are a lot of these that happen during the night in cemeteries. It could be about rituals, as evidenced by a previous case at a Mbare cemetery where a mentally deranged man would destroy tombstones with crucifixes only.We have alerted the police and also continue to monitor because strange movements continue to happen during the night.”
The scale of the damage suggests the involvement of more than one person, according to Munetsi. George Kandiero, president of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA), echoed Munetsi’s sentiment:
“A lot of things happen, especially nowadays, where people are in a rush for money and power. They can be ordered by sorceresses to destroy graves in order to accumulate power and wealth.”
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Relatives Of The Deceased Crushed
One affected individual, Theresa Nyoni, expressed her distress after her late father’s tombstone was damaged four months after its unveiling.
She remarked:
“This is honestly disturbing to see after just four months of the tombstone unveiling. God will punish these criminals, and we are going to get to the bottom of all this.”
Vandalising graves or corpses is punishable under sections 110 and 111 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23].
This incident follows a similar pattern to an event in April 2022, where thieves stole thousands of memorial plaques from Warren Hills Cemetery over two months. Authorities suspected that the stolen brass plaques were being sold to scrap metal dealers for profit. Some residents speculate that local tombstone craftsmen might be involved in the vandalism to attract more clients to their businesses.
