500 to be buried in old graves

The closure of the Old Location Cemetery in Windhoek's Pioneers Park has been approved, as it has reached its capacity and there is no more space left for new burial sites.Second burials in existing graves will be allowed if the original grave was dug deeper than 2.4 metres. The City of Windhoek said there are currently 500 graves that can be used for second burials.According to the City, the rule for the Old Location Cemetery is that one should be born on or before 1959. However, this rule will not be applied to second burials in existing graves. This was one of the issues delved into at last week's council meeting.“Burials at this site will now only be permitted for second interments in existing graves that were dug eight feet or 2.4m deep and for reserved graves,” a City statement said.“The Old Location Cemetery was established in 1928 to cater for the community of the Old Location and was utilised until 1968, when the last inhabitants of the Old Location were forcefully relocated to Katutura.” In January 1995, the City of Windhoek applied to the then ministry of regional and local government, housing and rural development, now the urban and rural development ministry, to reopen the cemetery because of the high demand for burials by the community residing in the area, whose family members were also buried in the cemetery. Based on this demand, and the status of the cemetery as a historic site, the ministry approved the application, which led to the expansion of the boundary of the cemetery to accommodate more burial sites and to prolong its lifespan, the City said. “Since the extension of the boundary in 1995, a total of 725 burials took place, while more than 40 community members have reserved graves next to their loved ones and are currently paying reservation fees for those graves.” ELLANIE SMIT

500 to be buried in old graves

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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500 to be buried in old graves

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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