Health and police officials in South Africa’s Limpopo province have exhumed the remains of more than 40 individuals from two unmarked graves at the Mookgophong cemetery, in what has sparked a formal investigation into the handling of pauper burials.
The operation began on Monday and is expected to conclude by the end of the week. Authorities say the bodies were buried without coffins by a private funeral parlour contracted by the Limpopo Department of Health, raising questions about possible breaches of burial protocols.
Forensic teams, in coordination with law enforcement, are leading the exhumation. Access to the cemetery has been restricted throughout the process to preserve the integrity of the site.
“All individuals were officially classified as paupers,” said Neil Shikwambana, spokesperson for the provincial health department. “Under normal circumstances, the municipality would conduct such burials. But due to service delivery challenges, we were forced to step in and appoint a service provider.”
Shikwambana added that the department was under pressure, citing a backlog of unclaimed bodies at state mortuaries. “At one point, we had over 40 unclaimed corpses. The decision to proceed with contracted burials was made in response to this overwhelming situation,” he said.
However, the discovery of mass graves has triggered scrutiny over whether dignity and legality were upheld in the burial process. Health officials have confirmed that a full internal investigation is now underway.
The case has renewed calls for stricter oversight of outsourced public services and the humane treatment of the deceased, particularly in cases involving the poor and unclaimed.