JOHNSONVILLE – Nearly two hundred people who visited the Johnsonville Cemetery yesterday to clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones were shocked to discover that over 300 graves had been broken into. The steel rods, along with other items, including a few caskets, were stolen.
Scores of those affected by the desecration told The Liberian Investigator that the government is failing not only in protecting the living but also in safeguarding the resting places of the deceased.
They blamed the situation on the government’s alleged failure to curb the spread of harmful drugs in the country, arguing that no sound or rational person would steal from a graveyard unless influenced by drugs.
Jacob Payne, a resident of Jacob Town who had gone to pay respects to his deceased mother by cleaning and decorating her grave, expressed his distress upon seeing that his sister’s grave, also located in the cemetery, had been broken into, with her casket brought to the surface.
“I feel terrible. I came here to decorate my parents’ graves, but I also discovered that they [unknown perpetrators] had opened my sister’s grave. All the steel rods we placed there are gone,” Payne said with a heavy heart, his facial expression reflecting agony amid grief on a day meant for memorializing the deceased.
He criticized the leadership of the Township of Johnsonville for failing to protect the cemetery from vandalism and criminal activities perpetrated by “zogos” (drug-affected young people known for stealing and harassing others).
If anyone thought that the Palm Grove Cemetery on Center Street in Central Monrovia was the only desecrated burial ground, then it is time to reconsider. The looting of graves is expanding across Monrovia and its surrounding areas.
According to Payne, they counted 383 broken graves, though some were left uncounted due to exhaustion and frustration.
“We weren’t counting these desecrated graves for fun but to assess the level of destruction. People came to decorate their loved ones’ graves but left in frustration upon realizing that there were no graves to decorate. It is terrible, and it might get even worse in the coming years,” Payne lamented.
Four other sources corroborated Payne’s claim that over 300 graves had been vandalized. The Liberian Investigator’s follow-up count recorded 317 desecrated graves, though the entire cemetery was not fully surveyed.
Payne revealed that he had paid US$200 to bury his mother and another US$200 to bury his sister, whose grave was broken into. “Some people pay up to US$300 to bury here. Many believed this place was safe and well-managed, but now we are witnessing the same situation that has plagued Center Street and other cemeteries,” he said.
To prevent further vandalism, Payne said he opted to reconstruct his sister’s grave without steel rods, fearing another break-in by criminals.
A Day Set Aside for Memorialization Marred by Grief
Decoration Day was declared a national holiday in Liberia following the passage of an Act of the Legislature on October 24, 1916. The law designates the second Wednesday in March as “Decoration Day,” observed as a public holiday.
Since then, people from all walks of life have gathered at cemeteries across the country each year to memorialize their lost loved ones by cleaning, whitewashing, painting, and engraving names and other details such as birth and death dates on graves.
While there are mixed reactions regarding how the day is observed—especially with some individuals engaging in merrymaking after tending to graves—there is a collective outcry against acts of vandalism that desecrate the purpose of the holiday.
Yesterday’s horrifying discovery at Johnsonville Cemetery—situated after the intersection of the roads leading to Mount Barclay, Bardnersville, and Pipeline Road—signals the emergence of a new wave of grave robberies by unknown individuals.
A resident of the Township of Johnsonville, who lives near the cemetery, revealed that there are over 2,000 graves spread across the four-acre land. Identifying himself only as John, he stated that the desecration occurs at night, when criminals—believed to be drug addicts—go unnoticed.
“They commit these horrific acts at night when no one is watching. When people are sleeping, that’s when they break into graves. I fear this place is turning into another Center Street,” John remarked.
Families Devastated as Loved Ones’ Graves Are Desecrated
Samuel Ricks, accompanied by his sisters, was enraged to discover that their father’s tomb had been broken into and the casket stolen.
“They took everything except the bones. They tore down everything and even made away with the iron fence we built around the tomb,” Ricks said with deep sorrow, vowing to confront the Johnsonville leadership through the Commissioner’s office.
Comfort Naomi Jallah, a woman in her early thirties, expressed relief that her grandmother’s grave remained intact but worried that the cemetery was no longer safe.
“This is frustrating. It is heartbreaking that people came today to decorate their loved ones’ graves, only to find them desecrated. This has never happened before. Look at how caskets are now exposed after the graves were broken into. This is truly distressing,” Jallah said.
She further revealed that there are speculations that certain young men attend funerals, pretending to sympathize with grieving families, only to return at night to steal valuable burial items.
“I heard from two people that some ‘grona’ (street-groomed) boys observe funeral services, then return overnight to steal burial materials and sell them cheaply. This is pure evil,” she lamented.
Grave Spots Allegedly Resold
Beyond the looting of burial sites, some families reported discovering that their loved ones’ graves had been sold and repurposed for new burials.
“We didn’t put cement and tiles on our uncle’s grave initially because we couldn’t afford it. Now, we came to do it, only to find a new grave built over his,” Jenneh Fahn told The Liberian Investigator.
Fahn said attempts to locate the individuals who had sold them the burial spot proved futile.
“Anyone we asked about those responsible claimed they didn’t know them,” she added.
Although The Liberian Investigator could not track down all the affected families, multiple sources confirmed that many graves had been resold and repurposed for new burials.
Efforts to contact the Johnsonville authorities were unsuccessful. However, The Liberian Investigator is following up on the matter and will provide further updates in a subsequent publication.
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