Elmon Tshikhudo
The funeral of Thohoyandou kingpin Naledzani Munyai matched his lifestyle.
At first glance, one might have confused it with a state funeral.
Hundreds of mourners from all over the country, including his friends in trademark camouflage uniforms, came to pay their last respects.
A convoy stretching nearly a kilometre – with cars mostly also in camouflage colours – blocked the main road from Sibasa to Vondwe.
While not a state funeral, it was fitting for a man that was larger than life in Limpopo.
Munyai was killed with 28 bullets on Friday 11 June, at the age of 44. He’d been missing a week.
It was the end of a life in which he had faced injustice at the hands of the legal system, but then gone on to allegedly become what he’d been falsely accused of being: a violent criminal.
Community members allege that alongside his company, Jerusalem Paradise, Munyai ran a sprawling empire which allegedly included burglary and extortion.
At the funeral, there was screeching of tyres and spine chilling wheel spins by the cavalcade of cars.
Other road users were visibly upset, with one overheard moaning: “What can we do? These are the owners of the road. They do as they wish.”
To add to the drama police units stood by in different vehicles including Nyalas.
They monitored the situation throughout the funeral. No one has yet been arrested for Munyai’s murder.
Arno Mudau, a close associate of the dead man and also a partner at Jerusalem Restaurant and Pub, described his death as a blow to their partnership.
“His death was so sudden and left us all in shock. We are still in the dark about the whole incident. But rest assured this is not the end of Jerusalem, we will pick up the baton and continue where we left off,” he said.
“We accorded him this type of funeral befitting his lifestyle and we know he will be smiling wherever he is,” Mudau said.
