Murdered four-year-old Tamia Botha laid to rest
|Published
The funeral service of murdered four-year-old Tamia Botha. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town - Murdered four-year-old Tamia Ambrosa Botha has been laid to rest.
Hundreds of mourners attended her funeral service in Paarl yesterday.
Her tiny white coffin, decked with flowers and her picture made its way through the streets where Tamia once played.
Her parents, Udene and Giel Botha were consoled by the church congregation and community members.
Children were dressed in white T-shirts with her photograph printed on them.
Inside the church in Paarl, images of murdered victims such as Tazne van Wyk, were displayed.
Last week, angry residents bayed for blood after two suspects, aged 37 and 40-years-old, were released from police custody due to a lack of evidence.
Police have yet to make an arrest in the case.
Tamia disappeared on Sunday, September 25, and was last seen visiting a shop in Klein Nederburg in Paarl.
A day later, Tamia’s lifeless body was found on an open field by school children in Paarl.
She was fully dressed and police have yet to reveal what the cause of death was.
In the church, the pastor leading the sermon told mourners death could not be escaped: “Our time, Tamia’s time is in God’s hands. Nothing can stop it. You can go to the gym, you can drink sugar water and do whatever, but your time is your time and we need to make peace with it.”
Randall Williams, also a resident from Paarl who is part of the church congregation, said the death of a child was unquestionably painful.
“I buried my mother yesterday … my mother died, but it is not the same as what you as a mother is experiencing in losing a child, we pray for God’s peace,” he said.
Ingrid Harding, a community leader and member of Track and Trace Missing Persons Organisation, who led the search for Tamia, said the community was unified and outraged that police had made no progress in the case.
“The community stood together from the day that Tamia went missing and they have supported the family and we thank them for that.
“We thank Willys & Gallio Funeral Services for what they did for the family.
“The community is calling for an arrest in Tamia’s case after the release of the two suspects.
“They are also upset due to the police’s inefficiency in providing counselling for the parents,” Harding said.