South Africa is united in grief after fallen hero Senzo Meyiwa was laid to rest at an emotional service in Durban on Saturday.

Not since the funeral of world statesman, Nelson Mandela, last December, has there been such an outpouring of emotion.

The Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and captain, Meyiwa, was shot dead in a botched armed robbery in Vosloorus outside Johannesburg last Sunday.

There was an immediate outpouring of grief as the nation tried to come to terms with the senseless tragedy.

What made the 27-year-old’s death more heart-wrenching was the fact that his appointment as national captain had coincided with a remarkable turnaround in the team’s performance.

After all, in the first four fixtures of the African Cup of Nations qualifying matches, he didn’t concede a single goal.

Meyiwa also played an instrumental role in Orlando Pirates’ successes over the last three seasons.

His sterling performances helped to propel his club to its second African Champions League final last year.

An emotional Bafana Bafana coach, Shakes Mashaba, on Sunday said that as much as he didn’t want to accept that his captain was gone, he had to accept it for the sake of finding closure to the matter.

“Senzo never stopped smiling even when the chips were down. He once told me he had no time to get angry.

“What has upset me of all things was that Meyiwa died when he was starting to realise his cherished dream of leading the national team to dizzy heights. I have no words to describe my emotions,” said Mashaba.
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/170484-slain-south-africa-goalkeeper-meyiwa-buried.html