Yellow card to the municipality of matola: the disorder in cemeteries is a mirror of the urban and moral failure of the municipal management

In the last edition of the “yellow card” we discussed the management of the Matola municipality’s roads, but as it was not possible to address the issue of cemeteries, which, due to their importance, we have deliberately chosen to isolate so that we can deal with them in greater depth. In a country with vast amounts of unexploited land, it is unacceptable to exhume bodies in the cemetery to bury another person, because the cemetery no longer has space. The cemeteries of Matola, which should represent spaces of serenity, respect and rest, have become places of disorder, abandonment and aggravated pain. The situation experienced in these spaces is unsustainable, shameful and morally reprehensible. The municipal management has failed blatantly, condemnably and continuously, by allowing a true collapse of the municipality’s cemeteries. For these reasons, it is with ethical conviction and civic indignation that this yellow card is issued as a public warning against institutional inertia, disorganization and insensitivity.

The cemeteries in Matola are full, saturated, and exhausted. And yet they continue to receive new funerals as normal. This is not just a technical fact, it is an ethical scandal, a moral decline in public management, when users can no longer raise their voices to complain. Continuing to bury bodies in spaces that no longer accommodate new graves in a dignified manner is to act with total disrespect for the memory of the dead and the pain of the living. The most glaring example is that of the Machava Bedene Cemetery, commonly known as Gonondzuene. Despite being visibly overcrowded, the place not only continues to receive burials, but it does so without any clear criteria, without order, without supervision. Graves are practically next to each other. The corridors have disappeared. There are no longer defined paths. Vegetation has taken over the space, making movement difficult and transforming what should be a place of retreat into a maze of woods.

Families who go there to pay tribute to their loved ones face a veritable obstacle course. Urns are carried with redoubled effort among bushes, thorns and uneven ground. Instead of being accompanied by a solemn moment of farewell, the bereaved are forced to face discomfort, confusion and even indignation. This scenario is unacceptable and shows that the dignity of death is no longer a priority for those who manage the municipality.

Even more painful is the phenomenon of arbitrary exhumations. There are frequent reports of families who go to cemeteries to visit the graves of their relatives and discover that the remains have been removed without warning. Graves have been destroyed, plaques removed, remains taken to an unknown location. And all of this without any official communication, consultation or explanation. It is a silent but devastating act of violence. Mourning is reopened. Pain is multiplied. This is not just a technical or administrative error, it is a direct attack on the families’ right to memory, respect and truth. A public administration that does not respect the dead cannot care for the living either.

This reality is even more shocking when one observes the general state of the cemeteries. In addition to the physical saturation, urban disorganization reigns. Land divisions have been ignored. Vegetation grows uncontrollably. Graves are built outside of standard standards, overlapping each other, and many have no visible markings. The lack of adequate signage makes it almost impossible to locate a specific grave without help, and even the workers at the site often do not know where certain burials are located. The abandonment is evident. And this abandonment reveals not only the lack of administrative capacity, but the total absence of a sense of institutional respect for the sacredness of burying our dead.

The Eugénio Cemetery, in the São Dâmaso neighborhood, is another paradigmatic case. A relatively new space, but one that is already heading rapidly towards the same fate of chaos as the others. The disorganization is visible. The graves are being built without any planning or alignment. There is no fence. Children cross the cemetery on their way to school, playing among the graves, talking loudly during funeral ceremonies. Residents use the space as a shortcut. There is no surveillance, no control. The funeral space has been naturalized as if it were any abandoned land. The symbolic boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead has been lost. And this is deeply alarming. Because it shows that our cultural, religious and ethical values ​​are being ignored, or worse, destroyed, by a logic of administrative negligence and permissiveness.

What happens in cemeteries is, in fact, a reflection of what is happening in the neighborhoods of Matola. Disorganized urban growth, anarchic expansion of settlements, lack of supervision, tolerance of informality — all of this is repeated in the management of cemeteries. It is the same logic: lack of planning, institutional improvisation, permissiveness without responsibility. What we see in cemeteries is, therefore, a direct consequence of the failure of urban planning. And worse: proof that municipal managers not only ignore the signs of collapse, but are often complicit, as they pretend not to see the disaster, even as they walk right through it.

This is not just a technical criticism. It is an ethical complaint. The way we treat our dead says a lot about the value we place on life. If we cannot even guarantee peace and respect in the end, what kind of society are we building? A society that does not respect the memory of its own, does not honour its ancestors, does not respect the mourning of others, is a society in moral bankruptcy. Death must be treated with solemnity, dignity and humanity. Cemeteries must be sacred spaces, protected, clean, organised and monitored. The disorder that reigns in Matola is, therefore, more than a management failure. It is a serious symptom of the erosion of the sense of public responsibility.

Therefore, urgent action is needed. The Municipality of Matola must immediately suspend burials in overcrowded cemeteries such as Machava Bedene. It must implement a plan to expand and create new cemeteries, well located, fenced and with a clear urbanization plan. It must review the system for registering graves, creating a digital and physical record that allows any grave to be easily located. It must establish clear and legal procedures for exhumations, with mandatory formal notice and consent from families. It must clean, fence, signpost and reorganize existing cemeteries. It must train funeral workers in ethical and humane practices. Above all, it must restore citizens' right to dignity, both in life and in death.

This yellow card is not gratuitous, nor is it merely symbolic. It is a cry. A cry for respect. A cry for memory. A cry for responsibility. Because when the dead have no peace, it is a sign that the living are living in a deeply sick system.