Sitting in front of a tiny white coffin carrying the body of four-year-old Shaynice Talla, Shaamila Khan tried to hold back her tears as mourners spoke fondly of her niece.
But she broke down during the funeral on Wednesday when the gospel song Lion of Judah by Lebo Sekgobela was played at Church of Christ in Eldorado Park.
"It's like we felt her presence when that song came on. Shaynice was a busy child and we all loved her. That song reminds us of her. I will never hear that song the same way because it reminds me of the pain we are going through as a family," said Khan after the funeral. Shaynice lived with Khan and she adored the child.
Shaynice's body was found in a drain in Eldorado Park Extension 2 on September 27.
A large number of Eldorado Park residents, wearing green ribbons, attended her funeral.
"When the innocent life of a little girl is taken in this manner we need to ask ourselves what is wrong with our community. There is a sickness in our community and we have accommodated it for far too long," said City of Johannesburg MMC for health and social development Mpho Phalatse.