On Wednesday, friends, colleagues and family of Busisiwe Mokoena Lurayi said their final goodbyes to the award-winning actress.
The actress died at her home on Sunday, July 10, at the age of 37.
Her funeral took place at Redemption Church in Greenstone East, where several speakers took to the podium to pay their respects.
“How to Ruin Christmas” co-star Rami Chuene paid tribute to Lurayi on behalf of the cast.
Chuene was later joined on stage by the rest of the Netflix series cast, who were visibly emotional.
Actress Thando Thabethe fought back the tears, along with Trevor Gumbi.
Rest easy angel 🕊🕊🕊 #RIPBusiLurayi pic.twitter.com/iB6qDxohCC
— Sinazo Gulwa🇿🇦 (@Sinazo_Gulwa) July 20, 2022
Lurayi played the role of Tumi in the first and second seasons, “The Wedding” and “The Funeral” of the series.
She was not set to join the cast for the third season “The Baby Shower”.
“We don't understand it, we can't comprehend it, we can't internalise it, we can't articulate it. We are shattered, we are heartbroken,” said Chuene.
Chuene shared the sentiments of Lentswe Bhengu, who was one of the programme directors, that Lurayi had made everyone feel they were her best friend.
“Crazy, loud, alive, humongous, she was life itself, stubborn, stubborn but talented. Big-hearted.” said Chuene.
The actress went on to share a fond memory of how Lurayi would “centre” the cast, with morning meditations.
“She would make us mediate in the morning during shooting of ‘How to Ruin Christmas’ season 1 during Covid as we were all staying together,” said.
“She was that person, she centred us, she made us laugh. Such talent, master of accents, master of different genres. Completely unforgettable. So we are just here as these people to say thank you God for allowing us to experience the life that Busi was,” said Chuene.
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