THERE was drama at the burial of five Shangani accident victims in the Combo area after the family of four victims blocked Zanu PF officials from hijacking the funeral and turning it into a political event.
RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR REPORTER
Zanu PF had attempted to hijack the burial of Christopher Nkomo (44), Nkosiyabo Nkomo (20), Daniel Nkomo (27) and Simbarashe Mbano (26), who died on the spot when they were hit by a vehicle while attending to a broken down car near Shangani business centre along the Gweru-Bulawayo Road on Sunday.
They were among the seven who died in the tragic accident.
The ruling party had apparently organised a mass funeral for the victims at the local community cemetery and deployed former deputy president of the Senate and Insiza senator Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu to preside over the burials.
The Zanu PF politburo member was accompanied by provincial party official Jabulani Petshu Sibanda, central committee member Molly Mpofu and Insiza district administrator (DA) Sthandiwe Ncube as well as Ward 22 councillor Edith Gumbo and acting Chief Nkosiyabo Dladla.
However, things came to a standstill after the burial of the fifth victim Bukhosi Fuzane at the cemetery.
The Nkomo family suddenly refused to have their four relatives’ remains interred at the recently-established cemetery preferring to bury them at the family graveyard within the homestead where their forefathers lie.
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Irked by the Nkomo family’s defiance, the Zanu PF officials then ordered them to halt the burials saying the government had banned the burial of people at homesteads. The coffins with the bodies of the four Nkomo relatives were left in the sun for close to nine hours as the family and Zanu PF officials led by Ndlovu engaged in protracted discussions.
Ndlovu and his team, supported by the DA and Chief Dladla were adamant that the family should not bury their relatives at the homestead despite the graves having already been prepared.
“It’s possible to cover those graves and go and dig other ones at the cemetery,” Ndlovu said at the meeting.
“I once experienced that when I was phoned that a relative had died in Kumbudzi and bought a coffin only to be told that the person had ‘risen’.
“We then just put a stone in the grave and covered it. So for you to say that you can’t cover the graves because they were already dug is not possible. You can cover those graves. I won’t attend the burials because I don’t want to be part of law breakers,” Ndlovu said.
“It appears the Nkomo family are lawbreakers.”
Sibanda revealed at the same meeting that Zanu PF had planned that there would be a mass burial at the cemetery hence their invitation of Ndlovu to preside over the event.
However, Ndlovu and his fellow Zanu PF officials were left with egg on their face after the Nkomo family remained firm and refused to bury their relatives at the local cemetery.
The four were eventually buried at around 5pm at their homestead when the bodies were beginning to decompose as a strong stench emanated from the coffins and large green flies hovered above them.
Ndlovu, Mpofu and the DA boycotted the burials and left as the coffins were being taken to the graves.
