Bokgabo Poo, 4, buried at emotional funeral in Ekurhuleni

There wasn't a dry eye in the tent where hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their last respects to four-year-old Bokgabo Poo in Wattville, Ekurhuleni, on Monday.

She was buried three weeks after her kidnapping, rape, murder and mutilation shocked the country.

A video clip showing the bubbly little girl was played during the service.

“I cried when I saw the video clip where Bokgabo said 'good night',” said deputy minister of intelligence Zizi Kodwa, who was one of the speakers.

He asked Bokgabo’s parents Tsholofelo Poo and Irvin Ndlovu to put their faith in God, even as he questioned how God could allow a child to be murdered.

“Only a wild animal can do such a horrendous act. Only a cruel man can do such a thing. We have seen such ugly acts in Cape Town and Soweto. There are times when you [as a parent] ask yourself where God is. As we cry, we ask the question: How did He allow a wild animal and thug to do such an ugly deed?”

The funeral service, held at her home before her burial at a nearby cemetery, was attended by hundreds of people, including politicians clad in their party regalia.

Bokgabo was reported missing on October 10. Her dismembered body was found in two places.

The officiating priest, Father Themba Seya, closed the service with a call for church leaders to visit Bokgabo's alleged killer Ntokozo Zikhali, 30, to ask him where the other body parts are.

“It cannot be that we are burying a body with missing parts. As leaders we must visit Ntokozo and get him to say where he [allegedly] hid the other body parts. It's time for us to pray for him. As we pray for him he must tell us where the child's hand and other parts are.

“It's time for us to stop preaching and do some practical things,” Seya said.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.