Batlokwa Ba Mokabane clan seeks to interdict Eskom from burying ancestors’ remains in mass grave

Residents from various villages in Sekhukhune District in Limpopo are today seeking to interdict Eskom and its implementing agent, Thero Holdings in the High Court in Polokwane, from burying the remains of their ancestors in a mass grave, without following cultural procedures.

Eskom exhumed the remains of 79 people from an old graveyard to pave the way for a substation in Manogeng near De Hoop Dam, outside Steelpoort in 2018.

The remains have been kept in shipping containers for five years without burial.

Batlokwa Ba Mokabane clan who are the descendants of the deceased say that the act of keeping the remains of 79 people in shipping containers for five years is un-African and inhumane. They say that it has compromised the souls of their foreparents.

They accuse Eskom of refusing to conduct DNA tests on the remains, but Eskom says the remains are too old for DNA tests, as the people were buried centuries ago.

They want the court to force Eskom to stop burying the remains without conducting the DNA tests and to determine their relatives.

They also accuse Eskom of mixing up the remains, without separating them individually.

Residents concerned about Eskom keeping remains of their loved ones in containers