The following eulogy was delivered by Minister Jeff Radebe to honour the life of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana Captain, Senzo Meyiwa, at the Moses Mabhida stadium this afternoon in Durban, South Africa. Senzo Meyiwa was fatally shot on the 26th of October while to protect his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo from burglars at her home near Johannesburg.Â
My mourning fellow South Africans;
We are convened, today to perform the duty which we all dread, yet we will all go through. We are obliged by the decency of our humanity to perform this duty that people should fulfil for their illustrious deed. It is a confirmation of a citizen of our Republic whose life has consolidated the very existence of the Republic through for his fellow citizens. We are driven to this line of action by our recognition that Senzo Meyiwa’s obligations to his country during his life were more than a dedication to his own life.
We are convened to bid farewell to a hero who left us at the cusp of a deserved qualification for the African Cup of Nations Championship. He is a hero who contributed to the long indignity of our nation qualifying only by its strength of hosting rather than by its strengths on the field of play. Just as the nations of the world were beginning to recognize our strength to come back from the doldrums of our favourite sport soccer as a nation, one who contributed to this resurgence has been sadly disposed of us by the callousness of a firearm.
A flower that was blooming has now been withered by the greed of a senseless gunman. Were greed not such a destructive force, as this multitudes we would not be here but going about our daily chores. So even before I say a eulogy, let me join all South Africans who curse this voracious animal called greed.
An honourable distinction awaited Senzo Meyiwa, because were it not for the pressing matters of State, the President would have been here in person to say a eulogy for so gallant a hero from Umlazi. While  both South Africans, the President and Senzo Meyiwa operated in different spheres, one as a leader of the nation, and another as a leader of the nation’s team, on both their shoulders rested a heavy load. So much and more was, and is expected from them. For Heavy are their heads that wear these crowns. The nation expects its pride to be confirmed through their unwavering leadership.
Travelling with four Cabinet Ministers earlier this week to London to market our country as a destination for investment, we took the news of Senzo’s tragic passing away with trepidation. The news reached us just before we attended the first engagement with captains of industry in that city. To our greatest surprise, what we thought would make our task difficult did not materialize. We had thought the negative perceptions of our country as violence-prone which dissuades foreign direct investment would be confirmed. At every engagement we were greeted with deep sympathies for our loss as a nation. It immediately dawned on us that Senzo was not just an Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain, but also recognized beyond the borders of our continent.
Today there is no rivalry of a derby. All soccer lovers, supporters of all teams, at the top and the bottom in different divisions, are routing for one man as if they are all one team. All codes of sports are converged in mourning the sad loss as if they come from one code. All South Africans, in their diversities, from all walks of life, have come to relieve the Meyiwa family of the heavy burden of loss as if they all come from the same womb. Today, all South Africans, in this majestic stadium are the Meyiwas. And today, all South Africans are the Mulaudzi’s and today all South Africans are the Mwelases. Collectively and equally, these three families deserve our eternal gratitude as South Africans for having borrowed us their children.
A hero is human like Senzo who is born with bravery. His bravery was not in a theatre of war, but in a rectangular grassy field in which he manned the timber through which the results of the beautiful game are determined. His role in this war was of the last defender. Correctly, the Province of his birth has decided that his eternal remains shall be interred at Heroes Acre in Chesterville, a well and fitting tribute for such a man. Deservedly the city has accorded him the right to pass through its streets yesterday.
Who can say they never witnessed this bravery when Senzo threw himself into the feet of heavy men intending to score against his team? Which of you my fellow South Africans can say they never saw the two brilliant shot stopping saves in cauldrons of the Congo’s TP Mazembe? Indeed, which one of you can dispute the BBC’s assertion that Senzo was among the best keepers in Africa? Who will argue with Spain’s captain and keeper Cassilas, that when they exchanged their Shirts after that momentous victory against the world champions, he was doing so as an equal to Senzo?
The eyes of the nation are moist with sorrow, and the tears glide heavily on the cheeks of all those who loved and respected his sacrifices. When they broke down, those tears that rolled down the faces of his teammates displayed their sad loss. Even men of steel men who can endure more than 90 minutes of running, cannot defend themselves from the feeling of this loss. Their tears were the nation’s tears too. In unison this great nation curses the insatiability of Death, that gluttonous intrusion into our lives which lurks in every home every minute and every hour.
While its inevitability is unquestioned, it is always its untimeliness that disturbs our collective comforts. It is a gate of necessary inconvenience through which all men and women born of flesh shall have to pass through.
Through this compulsory gate, shall pass all those who were made by Dust, and as Dust shall return to dust, so should we be comforted that Senzo has gone earlier than most, but has also followed others.
My Fellow Countrymen,
Let us mourn as we should for this is our life’s journey too. Let us not blame Death for taking the heroes and leaving the cowards, because the cowards too do and must take this journey. Let us but decry the untimeliness of this passing away. Let us join in unison this acceptance by Thomas More, a noble character in Robert Bolt’s seminal work, a Man for All Seasons when he was about to be guillotined when he said”
“Death comes for us all;
Even at our beds;
Death does but stands a little;
It is the Law of Nature
and the Will Of God.”
As we decry the untimeliness, let us deeply rethink the prevalence and the free availability of the weapons of this destruction. Let us also deeply rethink the criteria for applicants who get the firearm licences. The national discourse has started and it is welcome.
of Senzo.
In the debate sufficient consensus is required so as not to divide our fractious nation even further. In the final analysis, Senzo’s tragic death should galvanize as a nation to relook at how we can arrest the scourge of crime, not only as it affects those who are in the public eye, but as it affects all South Africans.
Fellow South Africans,
We do not underplay the gravity of the cowardly murder of Senzo.  The perpetrators of this heinous crime need to be brought to book and no stone should be left unturned to find out who, why and what happened. In the last month our nation has been seized with news of the abuse of these weapons. Acquired for self-protection, most of the users have abrogated their responsibilities by using them to visit harm on others. The basic question which we should ask ourselves as a nation is whether we are bent on self-destruction, or on mutual co-existence.
The anger that has arisen in all the recent cases is that harm has been visited on people who were not given a chance to defend themselves. This decay of society is surpassed even by the unwritten conventions of the Wild West. In this Wild West, glamorized by the Humphrey Bogarts and the Terrence Hills, an unarmed man was never shot at; a defenceless woman was protected and the children were not to take part in any gun battles.
I am saying this fully aware that Senzo was a soul that would never spill blood even in his own defence. With a kind heart full of giving to others, I am sure that had these criminals told him what their wanted, he would have gently persuaded them to spare his life.
Generations which follow will enquire as to how this man could in the short interval of his birth and his death amass so much energy that at the age of only 27, the nation relied on him to reclaim its pride. History records will tell them, that he was a man with a purpose, a man with a vision, and a man filled with abundant doses of patriotism. They will remember the patriotism which was attested to by his former teammate Benson Mhlongo when he told the world that Senzo had always wanted to be the best in his country first before exploring foreign opportunities. Indeed if he had lived longer, Senzo would have been an ambassador of excellence for the nation.
To you My Young South African Compatriots
Look at the example of this young intelligent and brave man who rose amongst you. Senzo is being hailed today not because he rose from the distinctions of splendid birth and titles. He had no illustrious lineage which brings with it titles and entitlement. He grew up in the shadows of a township whose residents eke out a daily life of struggle. He had no claim to any successes at birth, but pulled himself by his bootstraps to achieve what he has achieved.
His timely interventions and judgements in critical situations is a lesson for all. It is these that made him proficient in the execution of his duties for his nation.
Discard all the adulation you might have about wrong role models because Senzo surpassed them all. What will stop you, I ask, from sharing the emotions of the moving poem tweeted in tribute to Senzo by Rony Lokaowa of the North West University when he said:
“Gun in their hands firing bullets/
ending life worth positive influence/
shot dead for having purpose/
blood spilled because of significance/
the cold world, a moment of victory turns to misery/
I carry you pain more than it could be written in poetry/
Heartless beings gone before defense.”
Senzo has taught you to be kind and gentle to your fellow brothers and sisters. Be respectful to your parents as Senzo was, for the returns of this respect shall be in bountiful rewards. Be respectful to your coaches as Senzo was to the London Cosmos coach by the name of “Soweto”.  Respect all elders such as Senzo respected Mr Thompson Phoswa, the owner of London Cosmos. It is this respect which made it easier for the Chairman of Orlando Pirates, Dr Irvin Khoza, to guide Senzo to football stardom and national fame.
Be modest in your achievements like Senzo, because even in his national and international prominence, he never came to look down upon his own township and its people. Yes, like all his Umlazi people, he continued to train in the dusty football pitch of Cwebezela School in the same manner that he would train in the well-manicured grounds of FNB stadium.
Senzo proved the opposite of many of our young people who often bask at the little glory they had attained, but who also drown in the little fame they have achieved. We are aware that at the age of 15 while his was cultivating his immense talent in Umlazi, he was roused from here to respond to the call of duty at Pirates. At Pirates he rose to the call to serve his nation. I have localized Senzo deliberately to show that even though all the Buccaneers and the country can lay a claim to him as their own, it is the people of L Section Umlazi who have a rightful claim to him. He never disappointed them. It was this umbilical connectedness with his place of birth that London Cosmos has now graduated to the Jamari-Meyiwa School of Excellence. Yes from what he got, he has given back. What an example, what a life!
Senzo has bestowed our nations’ youth with a free lesson in perseverance and patience. Biding his time without brooding, he continued to exist under the shadow of goalkeepers who were given the chance ahead of him. An impatient player would have left the club, but Senzo waited until he cracked it. He took the chance with both hands and he never looked back.
Leveraging complementarity to the full, Senzo co-existed with stiff competition from others. But less known is that the much talked about rivalry between him and his friend Itumeleng Khune was nothing but healthy competition which unearthed two complimentary talents. While Senzo excelled as a shot stopper, Khune excelled as an acrobatic keeper. As friends both on and off the field, stretching since their days as playing together in the Johannesburg side, to the under -17 and right up to the under -23 sides, their healthy competition meant that each had to teach the other his specific skills. The South African goalkeeper’s position was up for grabs, and we pitied the coaches for being spoilt for choice.
My Fellow Countrymen;
In the spirit of this day, let us not be misdirected in our collective farewell to Senzo by the detractions that come from the outside. As a nation we have a fair share of our people who cannot hold themselves in suggestions about how Senzo’s life should be celebrated. Indeed, as we speak, suggestions are being made about naming this road or the other in honour of Senzo.
In our individual ways we feel we have to pay this gallant hero a tribute in one form or another. At the same time, we are fully aware that the time is not ripe for this. We assure the Meyiwa family that as they go through this sad period of their loss, the most we can do is to allow them to grieve for their son. To us Senzo was a hero, and will always be a hero even in his death. Senzo, even though born from the loins and the girth of the Meyiwas, belonged to South Africa.
It is within that context that we as a nation today pay our respects to
The Son of Meyiwa!
Singila Owehla Ngomzungulu wasala wabola!
Bathi bayakulandela baphonseka emgedeni
Amanga amahle!
Malala ngokulala nomunwe uvuke ukhombe ilanga
Rest In Peace! Senzo Robert Meyiwa