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Cemeteries
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 City Parks manages 34 cemeteries in Cape Town, through four district booking offices (centre, northern, eastern and southern districts). Twelve of these cemeteries are full.
Cemeteries may be visited between 08h00 and 17h00 daily; burials may be made during the week from 09h00 to 15h00, and on Sundays by special appointment only.
For details of how to book a burial with or without the services of an undertaker, and how to book a burial for an indigent person, please click here for the City Parks Cemetery Information brochure. This brochure also contains the contact details of all cemeteries in the city.
The four most important historical cemeteries in Cape Town are the:
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Maitland Cemetery
This is the largest cemetery in Cape Town, covering 100ha. The first burial took place on 16 January 1886, and it is now nearing capacity. Plans are therefore in place to develop a Mausoleum.
Maitland is the last resting place of many prominent South Africans as well as victims of the 1918 Flu Epidemic.
The Commonwealth War of Graves Commission maintains the Military Allotment, where fallen soldiers from the World Wars are buried. There is also a section for the victims of the South African War (1899-1902)
The Roman Catholic Church has erected a chapel for use of its members and the Jewish Community are accommodated at Gate Eight.
Gugulethu Cemetery
Many struggle veterans and community leaders from Gugulethu are buried here, including Christmas Thinto and Mama Holo (part of the Gugulethu Seven).
The Gugulethu Seven were a group of young activists who were ambushed by the South African Police and shot dead in the streets of Gugulethu on 3 March 1986. The graves of members of APLA (The Azanian People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress in South Africa) and Umkhonto ‘we Sizwe (or MK, the active military wing of the African National Congress (ANC) in cooperation with the South African Communist Party) can also be found here.
Langa Cemetery
Local pop-star Brenda Fassie is buried here, as are a number of veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle. The Cemetery is also known for its mass grave of people killed during the apartheid regime in the 1960s.
Khayelitsha Cemetery
Community leaders, youth leaders as well as veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle are buried here. The graves of Michael Mapongwana, Nomsa Mapongwana and Julian Ntsholo are to be found here too.
Michael Mapongwana was a prominent ANC community leader, assassinated on 8 July 1991. In October the year before, his wife Nomsa Mapongwana, was killed in a night-time attack on their home.
Julius Ntsholo was a member of the Western Cape Civic Committee (WCCC) and the first leader of SANCO. | |
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