The skeletal remains of a Mpumalanga family were left scattered in the yard after their graves caved in due to flooding in the Bushbuckridge area.

The Maluka family has blamed the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works for their ordeal, saying it built a culvert during the construction of a local road in 2017, which caused drainage issues.

The family accused the provincial government of having failed to repair the culvert for the past years despite repeated pleas due to their fears for the worst.

Following heavy rains from a Mozambican cyclone in the beginning of this year, the family’s graves caved in and collapsed, leaving the skeletal remains of their loved ones scattered in the yard.

Among the remains was the skull of Richard Maluka, identified by a distinctive axe wound from his murder in 1979.

Busi Maluka (42), a family representative, said the Mpumalanga government had failed to resolve the issue on time and now their relatives’ remains were left in the open.

“For eight years they ignored us, we are not the only family that is affected. The culverts have eroded so much soil here, such that our neighbours had to abandon their house because they cannot cross the sinkhole caused by the erosion,” Maluka she said.

The family’s ordeal began in 2017 when they noticed water pooling near their home due to drainage issues from the culverts that were installed by the provincial public works department during the construction of a local road.

Despite numerous complaints, no repairs were made.

The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, in its response, stated that the culverts themselves were not defective but blamed the erosion on unstable ground and extreme weather conditions.

The department also cited “budget constraints” as a reason for the delay in addressing the issue.

“The provision of climate-change-resilient infrastructure is costly, and the annual department budget for road development and maintenance does not meet the needs in the province,” said Bongani Dlamini, the spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works. “The road that collapsed is a low-order gravel road, and therefore, the level of investment was constrained.”

He said managing infrastructure was a challenge due to climate change and limited resources

“Most of the province’s road infrastructure was built more than 20 years ago and has therefore reached or exceeded its design life. With extreme weather conditions like excessive rainfall and flooding, damages to infrastructure and areas in the vicinity can occur,” Dlamini said.

The department also insisted that it had been in contact with the Maluka family and taken steps to escalate the issue.

“The matter has been escalated to the relevant disaster management units in the municipality and the province, which will coordinate the necessary family support,” said Dlamini. “We have also facilitated the appointment of an archaeologist to assist with the reburials.”

Getrude Malomane, 64, whose parents, siblings, and uncle were buried in the now-collapsed graves said she was shocked by what happened.

“We never thought we’d live to see the bones of our loved ones lying in the open,” said Malomane.

Discussions between the department, the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Mathibela Tribal Authority and the family advanced from January and pathologists finally retrieved the remains of the seven graves over the weekend.

Reburials were conducted on the same day.