'A great tree has fallen': Family and friends pay tribute to popular Soweto doctor George Koboka

Murdered Soweto doctor George “Moobs” Koboka will forever be remembered as a genuine, happy man and a pillar of the community who went out of his way to help others.

Family and friends gathered for his funeral service on Friday at the Nasrec Memorial Park paid tribute to him as a lover of life, who enjoyed laughter and was a staunch supporter of Amakhosi.

“A great tree among us has fallen and we are shaken,” said family member Neo Nhlapo.

Koboka, 56, was shot dead in his consulting rooms a week ago by a gang of armed men who stormed his surgery while patients waited in the corridor. 

Nhlapo said they are still in shock:. “We are shaken that a man such as uncle George has passed, but we are greatly shaken by the way that he died. I stand here in disbelief of the reality that has overcome us.”

According to family, Koboka leaves behind two wives and 12 children.

Failing to hold back his tears, one of his sons, Theo, recited a poem:

“To my siblings, to my mothers and everyone else who dad loved — a message from Dad.

“When tomorrow starts without me and I am not here to see. If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me, I know how much you love me. And as much as I love you, and each time you think of me, I know you miss me too.

“When tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand that Jesus cared for me and called my name and took me by the hand. He said that my place is ready in heaven far above. And that I have to leave behind all those I dearly love. But as I turned around — as I turned and walked away, a tear fell from my eye.

“For all my life, I always thought it wasn’t my time to die. I had so much to live for but so much yet to do. It seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you, I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the bad. I thought about all the love we shared and all the fun we had.

“If I could have stayed for just a while, I’d say goodbye and kiss you and maybe see you smile. But then I’d fully realise that this could never be, for emptiness and memories would take the place of me. And when I thought of all the worldly things I would miss, I thought of you — and when I did, my heart was filled with sorrows.

“But when I walked through heaven's gates and felt so much at home, as God looked down and smiled at me from his great golden throne, he said: 'This is eternity and all I have promised you. Today your life on earth has passed but here it starts anew. I promise no tomorrow but today will always last, the same. Here there is no longing for the past.'

“So when tomorrow starts without me, don’t think we are far apart. For every time you think of me, I am right here in your heart.”

A staff member at Koboka's surgery, Ntombi Mkhonza, said: “Wherever he is, he is with us, he was a fighter. The people who did this, he will catch them.”

Police have arrested one person in connection with the murder.

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