SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MIDLANDS BUREAU CHIEF

GWERU – Mutapa Cemetery, home to 16 000 graves in the middle of the City of Gweru and once one of the most kempt last resting places, is now an inaccessible and dangerous bush.
Graves in the expensive cemetery are covered under thorny trees, tall grass and bushes that have grown to above the waist. Paths accessing different sections of the cemetery have disappeared. So are the roads inside the graves.
Relatives fail to locate the graves of their loved ones. Tombstones are allegedly stolen, and residents have been writing petitions to the local authority to no avail.
Ironically the neglect is taking place at a time when the 1892 graveyard is still being used for burials, albeit haphazardly. The local authority is filling up any free space and roadways.
Graves for adults cost US$70, while those for children cost US$35, making it the most expensive public cemetery in Gweru. Residents wondered what the local authority uses the money for if it cannot take care of the resting place.
Residents told The Mirror that it is common to come across snakes, wild rabbits, and sex workers using the graveyard with their clients while residents dump rubbish there. The perimeter fence has long fallen down.
Residents described the state of the cemetery as disgusting. They wondered how Gweru City Council allows such decay under its nose.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) director Cornelia Selipiwe said everybody who visits the cemetery expresses shock at its state. He called upon the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to intervene and direct the Town Clerk to act.
“It is not expensive to cut down bushes and grass and give some semblance of care,” said Selipiwe.
“If you want to see the quality of management at Gweru City Council, just look at Mutapa Graveyard. This cemetery mirrors every manager at the civic centre,” said Naison Wanyiwa, a Gweru resident.
Mutapa Cemetery was established as an elite cemetery, initially meant for white communities only. It was scenic and one of the best in the country, and its location in the middle of the city was therefore justified. It is the resting place for some of the country’s most famous and accomplished citizens.
Gweru Public Relations Officer Vimbai Chingwaramusee said there were plans to refurbish the place and insisted that cutting grass and trees at the cemetery is an ongoing process.
“We have been cutting the grass. Grass-cutting is an ongoing phase. We plan to refurbish and renovate cemeteries as they are our resting places. They are scared of us as Africans,” she said.