Pretoria - “Goodbye baby girl, have a good sleep now and may your soul be at peace.” These were the last sorrowful words by a member of the governing body of the school 9-year-old Zinhle Ndala attended.
Friends, family, school mates and the community of Mamelodi bid their final goodbyes to the girl whose disappearance and death left the community reeling in shock.
Edward Skosana of the Zakhele Primary School’s governing body urged the community not to seek revenge but instead to let Zinhle’s death be a call to say enough is enough.
“For how long can we keep burying our children?
“South Africa is feeding on its young and this has to stop,” he said.
“It’s time for mothers and the community to stand up and boldly say we refuse to stand by and watch our women and children being abused in this manner any more.
“Mothers, you are the ones who can lead us in prayer to remove this evil that has engulfed our country,” said Skosana.
He had often watched how Vusi Ndala would carry his daughter on his back and bring her to school when the car was giving them problems, he said.
“This man had a very close bond with his daughter, so I can’t imagine what he is going through at this time.
“I know from the parents that she often read from the Bible to her mom, so I ask you both now to look to the Lord for comfort,” he said.
MMC of Health and Social Development Eulenda Mabusela urged the community to band together and form community policing forums that would be on the look-out for suspicious activity in their community.
“This is the fifth family that I am comforting in Mamelodi; when will this stop? Let the community rise up and work with the police and report anything they think is suspicious because that is how the culprits behind these senseless killings will be arrested,”she said.
“We can do this. Together we can arrive at a place where we finally arrest these culprits. We need to understand that prayer without action will not solve anything,” said Mabusela.
Zinhle was buried at the Heatherly cemetery on Saturday.
Zinhle’s body was discovered by city council workers in a storm water drain at the intersection of Tsomo and Matlhare streets on February 12. This, ironically, is directly opposite the church where her funeral service was held.
Zinhle, who was to start Grade 3, was reported missing by her family on January 4. The family reported that she was last seen playing outside with her friends near her home.
Pretoria News