From page 33
ancestors of the bereaved
family.
Workers are still claiming the
right to bury their family
members on farms.
According to the Extension of
Security of Tenure Act (ESTA)
they have this right if they
can show that they are an
“occupier” on the farm
where they intend burying
the deceased; that the
deceased was a member of
their family and was also
living on that land at the time
of her or his death; that the
burial sought would be in
accordance with his or her
imposed by the
owner or
person in
charge of such
land in order to
safeguard life or
property or to
prevent the
undue disrup-
tion of work on
the land. ESTA
also allows the
family of the
buried deceased
to maintain
religious and/or cultural
graves indefi-
beliefs and that an established nitely, including tombstones
practice on that farm exists to and railings.
bury deceased family
However, in most cases the
members.
new owners of a smallholding
In the case of the farm having will not know the families
been sold and subdivided,
and might feel that they can
even if the members of the
dispose of the evidence that
family no longer live on that
people had been buried
land, ESTA ensures that they
there.
have the right to visit and
Apart from a variety of
maintain their family graves
legislative provisions which
on land which belongs to
criminalise violations of
another person, subject to
graves, it is an offence in
any reasonable condition
35
www.sasmallholder.co.za
LAND USE
common law to desecrate a
grave. Nonetheless the
common law does entitle an
owner who has no agreement
with bereaved families to
remove a grave's railing and
tombstone as long as no
violation of the grave occurs.
Should you need to relocate
a grave or cemetary you will
find yourself facing a number
of legal challenges, as well as
the ancestral issues outlined
above.
However, leaving the graves
undisturbed will provide you
and your family with a
constant reminder that death
is part of life.