In the northern city of Nampula, some of the dead no longer rest in peace in their final resting place. After human bones, there is now a new wave of vandalizing graves in community cemeteries in order to extract metal crosses for sale in scrapyards, according to residents living near the cemeteries.

Alberto Eugénio lives in the Namutequeliua neighborhood, where the Cotocuane cemetery, the largest in the district, is located. He confirms that the graves have been vandalized and denounces the lack of protection for the cemetery by the authorities.

"The criminals remove crosses from the graves to use the iron to sell," he told DW, adding: "They are not afraid, they come at night, in the evening and even in the morning."

The city of Nampula, the third largest in the country, has three official cemeteries run by the municipal administration and more than 100 family and community cemeteries run by the communities.

Unemployment, combined with the business of buying and selling scrap metal in junkyards, is seen by many as the cause of the phenomenon.

Although he recognizes how difficult it is to survive because of unemployment, Alberto Eugénio asks young people not to give in to vandalism: "I don't think it's a good practice, these young people don't have a good mindset, it can harm people who have relatives here in the cemetery, and that doesn't look good."

Abdul Paulo has been buying and reselling old iron for more than three years to ensure his survival. He buys a kilo of old iron for 10 meticais. He was unaware that some of the iron he buys may be being removed from the graves in more than 100 community cemeteries scattered around the city of Nampula and is now on alert.

"Now that I've heard, I'll be checking every bag to make sure there are no metal crosses," he says.

Meanwhile, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Nampula, through spokesman Zacarias Nacute, says that it has never received reports of graves being vandalized, but is ready to combat the phenomenon.

"At the moment, we haven't received a complaint about graves being vandalized in cemeteries in our area of jurisdiction," says Nacute. "In view of this case, we advise people to report it to the police authorities, so that security measures can be taken to prevent other graves from being vandalized."

The director of the Communication and Image Office of the municipality of Nampula, Nelson Carvalho Miguel, says that the municipality is aware of the issue and is "working to provide security". Later this year, he adds, "five [community] cemeteries are to be fenced off".