By Neo Kolane
Villagers of Thaba-Ntšo in the district of Mokhotlong have made an impassioned plea to be relocated following a massive mudslide that destroyed homes and left graves wide open.
Last month’s mud slide, caused by heavy rains and resulting in eruption of underground water on a nearby plateau, left total destruction in its wake.
The residents are now calling on the authorities to relocate them to other places in the same rural district, where they will be safe from similar disasters.
The community’s plea comes after three households were damaged by the mud slide while the graves were exposed as they were swept by water and mud flow from the plateau.
According to experts, the incident occurred as a process known as patched aquifer occurred between the overburdened basalt rocks below the surface.
Due to the exposed grave site, the villagers were left with no choice but to dig out and collect the human remains and rebury them elsewhere.
A troubled villager, ‘Malimakatso Masoabi, said it was around 2:00pm when she was sitting in her house and heard a loud bang, prompting her to peep outside. She had thought it was a rock fall. She then saw a massive flow of mud sliding down.
She said she knelt down and began to pray after which she evacuate grandchildren who were in her company to a safe place to a safe place.
The distressed 67-year old’s house built with stones is now partially submerged in mud.
She said up to now, the villagers have not yet received any help and they fear for the worst if their plea is not heeded.
Another affected villager, ‘Maneo Mafatlane, said more than 10 members of the Mafatlane family have been laid to rest at the affected grave site. She said she was witnessing a disaster of this nature and magnitude for the first time in her life.
She said to date, the recently buried bodies and decomposed remains of the deceased were being reburied after they resurfaced due to graves being washed away.
The community councillor of Thaba-Ntṧo, Bakang Lesale said at the grave site in the area where 21 bodies were buried, only four of them were reburied while the remaining are still trapped in heavy mud.
Lesale said only three households were affected by the incident as the mud flooded their houses. All walls of a house that was yet to be roofed, collapsed.
A dog was also killed after it was trapped in mud.
“We reported the matter to the district administrator, the Disaster Management Authority (DMA) and the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL).
“We hope the government brings machinery to clear the mud because it has closed the roads that lead to the local woolshed. Sheep shearing is affected. The government should also assist in removing the remaining bones of the deceased,” Lesale said.
The chairman of the council of Mphokojoane, Monaheng Senokho said the condition was brought by recent heavy downpours.
Senokho described it as a natural disaster that warranted exclusive attention from the disaster management authorities as people’s lives and properties are in danger.
He appealed for help from the state in order to alleviate their plight.
Senokho was unsure if the rains will continue to batter their area, a possibility that might prolong their ordeal.
The District Administrator of Mokhotlong, Serame Linake, said as part of his office responsibilities they relocated some corpses and urged the villagers to relocate as their village is a difficult place to access by road.
“I informed the villagers that lack of funds was a setback and urged those who could afford to relocate,” he warned.
Senior hydrogeologist at the groundwater division of the department of water affairs, Thaba Phori, said the phenomenon is a natural process triggered by saturation of the top soil. This according to him, is a result of the overburden on the basalt rock.
The Mokhotlong district disaster manager, Thabo Letsie, advised the dwellers to relocate as the disaster might strike again. They have been warned to desist from building houses in the area.
The authority has already identified a new site where the human remains are to be reburied.
Letsie said DMA visited the place with the ministry of local government which was to use excavators to remove the mud., noting that the DMA was falling short of transportation to monitor the affected places. He pleaded with the water affairs unit to find means to drill routes for the water to flow out.
Letsie said it was highly unlikely that government would build houses for the affected communities who are keen to be relocated.
“We urge the villagers to build themselves houses by using locally available resources such as stones,” he concluded.
