Old cemetery unearthed at Maseru Central Park

An unidentified cemetery has been unearthed inside the popular Maseru Central Park.

The Maseru City Council (MCC) said the old and unidentified cemetery was discovered recently during preliminary work on the park’s renovation.

The renovation is part of government’s efforts to boost recreational facilities at the centre, including a water park, slides, play areas, and lazy rivers. Lazy rivers are slow, meandering water channels with a gentle current, propelled by pumps.

The discovery of the cemetery has added an unexpected layer of complexity to the M15million project as it is not clear when the burials were done or how many graves are there. Efforts to establish such information from the local municipality were not successful this week.

However, in a statement last Friday, the MCC said it is treating the situation with sensitivity.

The council noted that it is planning to relocate the graves to Thibella Cemetery, with full respect for cultural traditions.

 “We are committed to handling this matter with the utmost respect and dignity,” it stated.

The city has urged residents who may have loved ones buried in the cemetery to come forward to facilitate the relocation process.

“We kindly ask residents who can positively identify a grave or have knowledge of their next of kin buried at this location to contact us,” the MCC added.

The public has one month to identify graves before the council proceeds with the relocation.