SA mourns three fallen sports stars

FAREWELL: Hundreds attended a memorial service for South African sports stars at the Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg. Photo: EPA

FAREWELL: Hundreds attended a memorial service for South African sports stars at the Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg. Photo: EPA

Published Oct 31, 2014

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Lebogang Seale

THERE was an outpouring of grief and then light moments at the memorial service for three sporting heroes who died recently.

Not even calls by some speakers for the hundreds of people to celebrate – and not mourn – the fallen sports heroes could comfort them.

First, they all clapped, cheered and sang celebratory songs as they paid tribute to three heroes who died in tragic circumstances.

And for a moment the mood inside the Standard Bank Arena in the heart of Johannesburg seemed gleeful as everybody sang in unison.

Suddenly the sniffs, followed by piercing wails and howls interrupted the joyous atmosphere in the amphitheatre.

This was as some of the mourners at yesterday’s joint memorial service for soccer star Senzo Meyiwa, 800m track sensation Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and welterweight boxer Phindile Mwelase battled to contain their grief. They wept as videos of the three dead stars, who will be buried separately tomorrow, were beamed on giant screens.

Among those who wept openly was former 800m female world champion Caster Semenya. She cried when a video showing Mulaudzi’s highlights played, and re-mained inconsolable even when a friend gave her some tissues to wipe away her tears.

ANC stalwarts Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Andrew Mlangeni, and Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula were among the dignitaries who attended. Safa president Danny Jordaan and Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba were also there, as was Springbok captain Jean de Villiers and a host of representatives from other sporting codes.

Meyiwa, Mulaudzi and Mwelase were described as national heroes and humble people. In one of the moving tributes, Athletics SA president Aleck Skhosana said Mulaudzi “… left an indelible mark in an event (800m) that has become dominated by Europeans and East Africans. He has (the heart) of a cheetah and a lion.” Long jump champion Khotso Mokoena described Mulaudzi as “a bullet and a legend”.

Meyiwa’s Bafana Bafana teammate Itumeleng Khune reminisced about the stiff competition between himself and the Pirates goalkeeper. Khune said their relationship had transcended the bounds of friendship and developed into brotherhood.

Mbalula told mourners that Meyiwa’s killers would be caught and prosecuted. “You (killers) can run but you can’t hide…,” he said. “Each one of us has the responsibility because somewhere, somehow, someone knows who killed Senzo Meyiwa.”

To rapturous applause, Mbalula added: “If they are your friends, if they are your boyfriends, release them before we catch them. If they are your distant relatives, advise them to come to the fore. Let a criminal remain a criminal and not a rolemodel.”

Jordaan called for the promulgation of a law to remove illegal guns. “We will take those guns to the furnace and build a statue of Senzo Meyiwa. You (soccer fans and the South African public) will decide how big that statue will be. That Senzo Meyiwa will stand in ouse.”

Jordaan said Safa would announce details about the statue on Tuesday.

Police have offered R250 000 to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers. The killers’ identikits have been issued and Meyiwa s family has hired 10 private investigators to help police.

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