Petrol bomb victim Mulweli Tshiwela, who passed away after sustaining injuries during an attack on her aunt's house at Mvelaphanda Ha Khangale outside Thohoyandou, was laid to rest at the Mathule cemetery last Sunday.
Mulweli (6), a Grade R pupil at Dzwerani, was asleep with eight other family members when unknown people came and knocked at her aunt's house past two in the morning. It is alleged they requested that the family open the door and come out, so that they could discuss work, but the family refused.
The unknown persons left but came back at around 03:00 and petrol bombed the house. The house was severely damaged, and four members of the family were seriously injured.
Mulweli was airlifted to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Her funeral was attended by many community members and members of the ZCC Dove congregation, who comforted mourners with their soulful music.
Speaking during the funeral, Mr Naphtal Ramawa, the deputy manager of governance in the Department of Education, said Mulweli's death was one of those unfortunate incidents where a young life who is the future was lost. "We are very saddened because our country depends on the young ones who will develop this country further. We are here to give the family the necessary support in these difficult times," he said.
Local traditional leader Chief Solomon Mbangiseni Khangale urged the police to speed up their investigations, so that the perpetrators could be brought to book.
Mr Robert Tshiwela, the father of the girl, said he felt like a part of him had been taken from him. "We had many expectations as parents. She was a good girl and there was not a time we reprimanded her for wrongdoing. We are shattered as a family," he said.