Durban - Little Shahiel Sewpujun was a harmless and innocent child who did not deserve a “heinous” death.
This was the repeated message from speakers at the funeral of the 9-year-old Phoenix boy who was found dead in a manhole on Sunday after he disappeared after leaving school on Thursday.
Tears flowed freely in the marquee filled with hundreds of mourners, who included politicians, clerics and pupils at Shahiel’s school, Clayhaven Primary.
The funeral was initially meant to be a memorial ceremony, but was turned into a funeral service after police released the boy’s body to the family, having conducted a post-mortem.
There was a brief commotion in the marquee, which was largely packed with women and children, when the family of the slain boy walked in in the middle of the service.
Grief and anguish were palpable on the faces of the mourners, with some even needing medical attention.
The wails grew louder when pallbearers brought in the coffin and the maulana recited a five-minute prayer. The crowd, following the family, flocked to the coffin with candles.
Felicia Deepnarian, Shahiel’s class teacher, spoke of her last encounter with her pupil, which she said would remain etched in her memory.
“It was on February 4, just before school closed. He said: ‘Thank you, ma’am. I will see you tomorrow.’
“The words will continue to echo in my head.”
Deepnarian said she would remember Shahiel as a “pure soul” with an “innocent heart”.
“As small as he was, he carried a very big bag. An innocent heart has been taken away from me. His personality complemented his outward appearance,” she said, in a quivering voice.
She said Shahiel “was always full of energy and life”.
Acting principal Mohamed Azeem Moidin said Shahiel’s death was “one too many”.
He applauded the community for rallying together from the day the boy went missing.
“Since Friday, this community has not slept. You made Clayhaven your second home to find the little boy. You have toiled, you made certain that every corner of Clayfield was searched. This child became our child. Tempers were flaring; you made claim to this child,” he said.
He recalled meeting a group of women from the community on Sunday, moments before the boy’s body was found.
“They said: ‘Mr Moidin, we are leaving the school, but we assure you that we’ll come back with news.’”
A while later he received a “hysterical call” informing him of the grim find.
“I don’t want to describe what we found. I don’t want to. This is a heinous crime… The perpetrators, how they can do such a thing to a defenceless child, an innocent child, who had an entire life in front of him?” he asked.
Shahiel was buried at the Brown’s Avenue Cemetery in Sparks Road.
Police said on Monday that three people had been taken in for questioning in relation to the murder, but had not yet been charged.
The Mercury