Zimbabwe: Private Cemetery Owner Who Dug Up Corpses and Resold Graves Granted U.S.$200 Bail

Restland Memorial Cemetery owner Munyaradzi Muronzi who landed in the dock on allegations of digging up graves, dumping corpses in a dam trench and reselling the used graves to other unsuspecting bereaved families has been granted US$200 bail.

Muronzi was arrested last week and charged with violating the Graves and Corpses Act when he appeared before Magistrate Isheanesu Matova.

He will be back in court on January 15 for his routine remand.

Prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawu alleged that sometime in 2015, Muronzi acquired 3.6 hectares of land in Rainham under Zvimba Rural District Council to use as a private cemetery.

It is alleged that after getting the land, he realised that the area had already been used as a cemetery by the locals but not known by the Zvimba Rural District Council.

“The company (Restland) through Muronzi then applied for the removal of these graves for reburial to pave the way for the new developments.

“In 2018 the company was granted permission to remove and rebury 69 graves for development of roads and car parks in the new cemetery.

“It is during these reburials when the accused person employed some workers who were removing the bones from the graves for reburial at a place within the cemetery.

“On 5 December 2024 police officers from Mabelreign received information to the effect that accused person had violated graves and corpses at his private cemetery and they went to investigate,” the court heard.

Upon arrival at the cemetery, the police discovered that indeed there were human remains where new graves were being dug.

Muronzi was then called to his cemetery, and he brought some paperwork, which showed that, indeed, sometime in 2018, he applied for the reburial of 69 graves for the purposes of developing roads and car parks.

“However it was discovered that there were more 78 graves which were reburied without the knowledge of authorities instead of the approved 69 graves.

“The accused person was interviewed and could not give a genuine reason as to why he had exceeded the number of graves which he had applied for in the first place,” the State alleges.

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