Kinshasa – In a Congolese cemetery overrun with weeds and rubbish strewn among the graves and banana trees, the living have moved in with the dead — some of them years ago.
For want of money and space, families have built houses out of earth, brick or sheet metal alongside tombs — some of prominent figures like the father of the current first lady — in the Kinsuka cemetery in Kinshasa, the DR Congo capital.
As they attempt to lead normal lives in this unlikely setting, the cemetery dwellers, who number at least several hundred, are not only living on the land illegally but also face dangerous sanitary conditions.
“You’re afraid you’re going to dig up a bone,” said 19-year-old Emile as he worked on the foundation for his older brother’s new house just steps away from a well-tended grave.
Should he, or the others, degrade a tombstone they face up to six months in prison, while living without a proper land title could mean a year in jail under the country’s penal code.
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