Fact check: Yes, there are graves submerged beneath Vaal Dam
- The Vaal Dam is used to supply South Africans with water and sometimes entertainment with a day on the water
- Photos emerged revealing graves hidden beneath the surface of the popular dam, disturbing citizens without question
- Briefly.co.za explores the facts behind this gruesome claim to determine the truth of the matter
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The Vaal Dam is South Africa's second-largest and a vital source of water and good times in Mzansi.
Photos have been circulating on social media, claiming that the dam holds a gruesome secret and causing uproar online.
The photos claim to be taken at the dam, which touches three provinces including the Free State, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, depicting graves beneath the surface.
Africa Check looked into the matter and determined that, much to everyone's horror, this claim is actually true.
Source: UGC
Despite numerous posts making the claim being flagged as possibly untrue, the fact-finding organisation has confirmed the reality of the grim situation.
The Geological Society of South Africa keeps records of gravesites and has confirmed that the graves are located on a three-kilometre long island in the Vaal Dam.
When the water level is low, like in the photos, the graves are visible. The graves include that of Jacobus Meyer who lived in the 1800s.
While the original dam was much smaller in comparison to what can now be viewed with the wall raised twice between the 1950s and the 1980s.
The situation may be controversial but it is not uncommon for people to be displaced by dams after they flood occupied or previously occupied land.
The exact position and elevation of the graves remain unknown and the date of the photos in question also is uncertain.
In other news, Briefly.co.za reported that Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo is at the centre of scandal after having allegedly used his 'influence' to secure donations for the ANC in his province.
The scandal erupted after ENSafrica's head of forensics, Steven Powell, testified at the State Capture Inquiry this week.
Powell testified that EOH Holdings, an IT service management company, had funded the ANC in Johannesburg at the same time that the City tendered to upgrade its IT infrastructure.
The testimony revealed that numerous donation requests had surfaced at the time of the tender being adjudicated with the tender itself worth R404 million.
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Source: Briefly News
