Afrikaner hero Danie Theron’s bones were stolen from his grave, allegedly by fanaticsts, Beeld newspaper reported on Friday.
The desecration was discovered on Monday by Michael Lombard who looks after the family graveyard. He has laid a charge with police. A deep hole was dug under the gravestone and a heap of soil was beside the grave, which is in the south of Johannesburg.
Representative for the Heritage Trust Celia Kruger said the trust did not see the desecration as mere vandalism. The trust had consulted various groups over the possibility that Theron’s grave be moved for greater safety and accessibility.
”We decided against that, but it just put the issue in the spotlight,” she said.
She said she believed ”people who are fanatical about Theron” could have reburied his remains at another place. Last year former president Nelson Mandela raised eyebrows when he unveiled a statue of Theron at Fort Schanskop, outside Pretoria.
This event was boycotted by the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweeging (Afrikaner Unity Movement) and other Afrikaner groups. Theron was a Boer scout during the Anglo Boer South African War. – Sapa