The City of Ekurhuleni on Gauteng’s East Rand has confirmed that the memorial site of the late South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary, Chris Hani at the South Park Cemetery in Boksburg, has been vandalised.
The City says it has informed the Metro police about the incident which took place in the early hours of Monday morning.
Spokesperson Zweli Dlamini says this is a devastating turn of events, not only for the Hani family but for the country as a whole.
It is not yet clear what could have led to the incident. The actual grave of Hani was not touched, but the memorial was damaged.
The incident occurs just days after a Constitutional Court decision ordering the release on parole of Yanus Walusz, who was convicted of Hani’s murder in 1993.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini says, “We are quite devastated with what happened here. We woke up in the morning yesterday, to the news that there has been some damage here. When we got here we found that there has been vandalism to this structure, especially when it comes to the lighting system, but also one of the pillars of the facility has been damaged. We don’t know what could have caused the damage but we have sent the whole report to the Metro police – they’ve launched a full investigation to determine what has happened here.”
African National Congress National Spokesperson, Pule Mabe says this has to be investigated as a matter of urgency.
“We’ve got to establish, is this an act of nature – or is it an act of other forces that we may not be aware of. What’s really happening here? So I know that you spoke to the representative of the City of Ekurhuleni, just to give you a feel of where things are. We spoke to our caucus in Ekurhuleni that they must undertake a full investigation.”
VIDEO | Chris Hani memorial site damaged: Abongile Dumako reports
