Bulawayo Council seeks space for Lady Stanley Cemetery. . . Burial ground for prominent residents runs out

Bulawayo City Council is looking for a new place to bury its prominent residents who have contributed to the development of the city as the cemetery reserved for such burials, Lady Stanley, is running out of burial space.

This was revealed by the deputy mayor councillor Mlandu Ncube during a meeting with fellow councillors recently.

To be buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery, a person should have resided in Bulawayo for a continuous period of 20 years and must have made outstanding contribution to the well-being of the community as a whole in one or more fields such as civic matters, education, religious or business leadership, sports and charity among others.

Clr Ncube said the local authority was looking for a new site to bury its prominent residents as Lady Stanley Cemetery was running out of burial space.

He said the issue of burial space was a very contentious topic that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

Clr Ncube said there might be a need to review the criteria for selecting individuals granted civic honours such as being buried at Lady Stanley in a bid to maintain the cemetery’s iconic status.

“Lady Stanley is fast filling up and its a sign that something is happening. We might need to review the criteria for selecting individuals buried there. The cemetery is fast losing its dignity because some of the people that we, as councillors, recommend that they be buried there do not deserve to be there,” said Clr Ncube.

There has been debate over who should qualify to be buried at the cemetery which is reserved for the city’s illustrious residents.

Some of the city’s prominent residents that have been buried at Lady Stanley are veteran journalists Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu, Innocent Kurwa, Dumisani Sibanda, Cde Lookout Masuku and Ernest Maphepha Sibanda.

Councillors have been encouraging residents to consider cremating their departed relatives as the city is fast running out of burial space.

In November 2019, BCC proposed mandatory cremation for people aged 25 years and below as it grappled with a shortage of burial space.

The call however did not find takers within a largely conservative resident base which still believes the rite was too western and taboo.

Residents have over the years opposed cremation saying it was un-African while Christians also cited lack of biblical reference to the process.

In a month, Bulawayo reportedly cremates at least 20 people, which is far less than the number of people who are buried per day.

In a previous meeting councillors said if Bulawayo was to be identified as a smart city there was need to embrace other human body disposal methods and save land for future developmental projects.

Bulawayo’s biggest cemetery, West Park, was closed in 2016 after running out of burial space but was later reopened by the local authority for reserved burials.

West Park cemetery was then later decommissioned again in 2019 after completely running out of burial space.