Family, friends and fans gathered on Wednesday morning to pay their last respects to stage and TV actress Busisiwe Lurayi.
Her funeral service was held at Redemption Church, in Greenstone, Joburg.
The Lurayi family confirmed in an official statement, released this week, that the “How To Ruin Christmas” star passed away on Sunday, July 10, at the age of 37.
The cause of death is yet to be revealed.
Addressing the congregants, her father Freddie Mokoena shared his grief following Lurayi’s passing over 10 days ago.
“I’m actually not going to be speaking to you. But I’ll be speaking to uBusisiwe,” said Mokoena.
“I’m sure a number of you will know that if you talk to Busi, you’ve got to make time. We’ve got time, Busi, later on, me and you. I will talk and I know you will be listening. You’ll give me the strength… I’m weak but I’m not going to fall. I’ll stand for you.”
Mokoena went on to thank the Lurayi family for helping him raise the actress.
“I would like to thank uGogo Lurayi, who gave me the opportunity to take uBusi from them, to spend some time and begin to read the play or what you guys would call a book that she started writing when she was young.
“I’m not talking about the book that one can read, put on a shelf and read sometime later. But I'm talking about the life that she so openly led.”
In his speech, Mokoena spoke about the pain of having to bury his daughter.
“I’ve had people say, ‘I want my child to bury me’, and I never understood it, until today... but God has decided on his plan. We plan things, God plans the other way.
“I’m telling you life sucks. But unfortunately, it’s got its match, Busi is not going to take it lying down.
“The fact that they have taken her away from me, she will come back.”
In an emotional tribute to his daughter, Mokoena also touched on that fateful moment when he found her lifeless body in her daughter’s bedroom on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m sure a number of you would remember, she (Busi) used to sing, ‘It’s Crying Time Again’. I don’t know why she sang that song.
“On that day when I saw her lying down, I realised, it’s the time that she used to talk about, ‘It’s crying time again’.
“And I hate that I had to see my daughter lying down and I couldn’t do anything.
“But wherever she is, she knows that if I had the time, I would be able to do something for her and I know, she’s at peace. She’s at peace with whatever happened that day, we will soon find out.
“The diva is not gone. The diva is with us. The diva will forever be my heart. The diva will forever be with Ayana. Gogo Lurayi, Gogo Mokoena, she is not gone. She is with us. She will remain with us,” added Mokoena.
The award-winning actress was laid to rest at Mooifontein Cemetery, Kempton Park, this afternoon.