Here's where you can watch veteran actress Mary Twala's funeral

Friends and family will travel to Grace Bible Church in Soweto on Thursday to pay their final respects to veteran actress Mary Twala, who died on Saturday at the age of 80.

The star's death was confirmed by her son Somizi on social media, saying: “The tree has fallen. I'm shattered to the core.”

Since then, social media has been flooded with tributes to the star.

While thousands have shared their condolences, the Covid-19 pandemic has limited attendance at the funeral to strictly 50 people.

In order to accommodate all those who will not be in attendance, fans, celebs and friends have been asked to send messages to the family via WhatsApp.

The funeral will also be streamed on several platforms, including Somizi's Twitter account, Mohale's Facebook, or Hop Media Live and The Bar Magazine's YouTube pages.

Mary captivated audiences of all ages during a career that spanned more than 60 years and saw her star in dozens of films, theatre and TV productions.

She lit up screens in projects including Sarafina!, Deliwe, Taxi to Soweto, Undenzani Melwane, Iqhawe, Hlala Kwabafileyo, Soul Buddyz, Child Of Soweto, Khululeka, Yizo-Yizo, SOS and Muvhango.

She had been battling with illness, which had seen her in and out of hospital for several months.

Earlier this year fans saw a frail and emotional Mary attend Somizi's wedding on his wedding TV special, Somizi and Mohale: The Union.

Her granddaughter and family spokesperson Phumzile Twala recounted her grandmother's last few moments to TshisaLIVE earlier this week, saying her family had hoped that the veteran actress would make a full recovery and were “shattered” at her passing.

“You know that she is old but she was so strong. She had pulled through so many times before that we thought she might be strong enough again.

“I was taking care of her. A day before her passing she was her old self. Doctors said she was up and jolly just 30 minutes before her passing. The doctor told her Somizi was on the way and she was so happy. All of a sudden she slipped away.”