Tears streamed down Anna Myeni's cheeks as she listened to tributes to her daughter Thabisile, 16, who was killed in a taxi crash in Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal last week.
The accident also claimed the lives of S'celo Rubushe, Ntobeko Ngidi and Sibusiso Sibiya when the taxi they were in collided with a bus on Ingcebo Road in Ntuzuma F section outside Durban.
The smash left 17 other people injured.
The community, grieving family members and provincial officials packed the KwaMashu Christian Centre yesterday for the memorial service .
In between tributes to the children, political leaders used the platform to criticise taxi drivers and owners.
Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane said KwaZulu-Natal's authorities would not allow rogue drivers to "put the lives of our children in danger. Having a licence does not mean you can drive."
Councillor Zama Sokhabase said: "We demand better cars and better drivers for our vulnerable children."
SA Democratic Teachers' Union regional secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said: "Public transport in this country is not good; it's driven by greed."
Memorials for three of the children will be held tomorrow in KwaMashu and the fourth will be buried on Sunday.
A taxi driver made a brief appearance in the Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court on Monday.
He is facing four charges of culpable homicide and is due back in court again on February 1.
