South Africans turned out in huge numbers in
Durban on Saturday for the funeral of national
football captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa,
who was murdered last weekend.
Meyiwa, who had just turned 27, was gunned
down by an intruder while visiting his pop star
girlfriend south-east of Johannesburg in a crime
that shocked the nation.
Family and friends were joined by government
members and the top names in South African
football among a crowd of 30,000 at the funeral
ceremony at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium,
broadcast live on television.
The crowd fell silent and many wept as Meyiwa’s
coffin, shrouded in the national flag, was driven
into the stadium in a white SUV, followed by
members of his club the Orlando Pirates and top
officials.
“Death is a thief that has stolen a bright shining
light from the nation”, Durban mayor James
Nxumalo told the ceremony.
“The entire nation is crying. We have all lost. Our
condolences to Orlando Pirates and Bafana
Bafana (the nickname for South Africa’s national
team). “Our hearts are bleeding.”
The goalkeeper had grown up in Umlazi, a
township near Durban on the Indian Ocean coast.
He was to be buried in the afternoon at the
Heroes Acre at Chesterville cemetery, which is
usually reserved for martyrs of the struggle
against apartheid.
Also attending his funeral were the country’s
football federation head Danny Jordaan and
Senzo Mchunu, head of the government of
Kwazulu-Natal, the province where Meyiwa was
born, which has decreed a period of mourning.
Meyiwa did not concede a goal in four recent
Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as South Africa
defeated Sudan, defeated and drew with Congo
Brazzaville and drew with defending champions
Nigeria.
More than 17,000 people were killed in South
Africa last year, but the slaying of a popular
sporting hero has stunned even this crime-weary
nation.
A 25-year old man, Zenokuhle Mbatha, was
charged Friday with murder and armed robbery in
connection with his killing, after being identified
by witnesses.
Source vanguard.
No comments: