A municipality in South Africa has announced that it will file charges against its employees for misbehaviour after images of them sleeping on top of graves went viral on social media.
According to local media accounts, the workers are from the municipal parks department, which is in charge of maintaining parks and public spaces.
In a statement, the Kwa-Zulu Natal province’s Msunduzi municipality claimed it was aware of the disturbing images of workers sleeping on graves.
The statement read, “The municipality will not condone such behaviour and can confirm that processes are in place for the implicated employees to be charged for misconduct and for putting the municipality in disrepute,” it said.
The municipality emphasised that people regard graveyards and tombstones as spiritual places where they honour the memories of their loved ones, and that images of people sitting and sleeping on them were a sign of disrespect.
This is not the first time that workers from the KZN capital have found themselves in a precarious situation. Previous photos showed employees from the same department sleeping during the day, while others were cooking food during working hours, raising concerns about their productivity.