They are finally back home. After two months of waiting, the families have received the bodies of 74 of the 81 South Africans killed when a guesthouse at Pastor TB Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations, in Lagos, Nigeria, collapsed.
The process of closing the painful wounds this nation has endured has now begun.
It was on September 12 that 116 people were killed at the guesthouse. Ever since that fateful day, we have been waiting for Nigeria to speed up the process of getting the victims' bodies back home.
All this time the families have been waiting patiently for the bodies of their loved ones , hoping to give them a dignified burial.
We praise and give credit to our government for speeding up the repatriation of the South Africans. But we still don't understand why the Nigerian government failed us. Though we acknowledge the complexities of identifying the victims, we are worried about how the scene of the collapse was secured.
The events following the disaster tell us that no one in Nigeria really cared.
Though this is not the time to dwell on the past, it is clear that the victims' families were treated shabbily by the Nigerian government at a time when they were enduring extreme pain and anguish.
That is why we fully understand their anger.
The intervention by our government, and the care shown by our leaders, have given us hope all this time. Now we urge the authorities to do everything in their power to push Nigerian officials to act with speed and help us close this painful chapter.
Speaking at the repatriation ceremony at Waterkloof air force base, in Pretoria yesterday, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government would intensify its efforts to ensure that the seven bodies still in Nigeria are returned without further delay.
Our pain and grief will continue until the last body is returned and given a dignified burial.
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