Crowds packed the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday to pay their final respects to slain Laduma High School acting principal Priscilla Thembelihle Mchunu.
Mchunu was gunned down in front of her Grade 12 pupils during her weekend lessons last week.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Mthokozisi Ngobese said the police investigation into the murder was still ongoing and no arrests have been made yet.
The news of the killing sent shock waves through Pietermaritzburg and social media was flooded with messages of support and praise for the award-winning history teacher.
Thousands of people filled up the City Hall’s main hall and corridors for her funeral yesterday which was attended by family, friends, community members, teachers and pupils from schools across the province as well as the MEC for Education Mthandeni Dlungwane.
In an emotional speech, Mchunu’s daughter Nomvula said she was overwhelmed by the support her family had received.
“I knew mom as mom but the world knew her as a superhuman that achieved so many things but remained humble in all that.
“The volume of people who have been flocking in and out of our house is testament to what an incredible and extraordinary human being she was,” said Nomvula.
She said her mother’s killers thought they were putting an end to her but “only made her bigger”.
“I don’t think I will ever know pain greater than seeing my mom lying peacefully at the mortuary with a smile on her face and bullet wounds all over her body,” said Mchunu.
“You will never know strength until you lose your mother who was your best friend, who was your everything, and still have to keep a level head in order to plan and execute a dignified funeral in between wanting to die, wanting to lie in bed and never wake up,” she said.
Mchunu’s nephew Nkosi Ntuli said the family were heartbroken over the loss but they would not be holding any grudges against the killers.
“This has happened to our family. However, because of the God we praise we understand that bad things are not rectified by more bad.
“Our society is ill and in urgent need of a doctor. And the doctor that is needed is not diplomacy nor money but Jesus Christ,” said Ntuli.
Mchunu, who would have celebrated her 55th birthday on Friday, is survived by two children both in their twenties.