RIP: Actress Busi Lurayi’s father, Freddie’s touching speech at her funeral leaves people in tears

The funeral service for celebrated actress Busisiwe Lurayi was held today at the Redemption Church in Greenstone, Johannesburg. Family, friends industry mates all gathered to give the actress a proper sendoff.

Busi Lurayi, known for her amazing acting skills on Ses’Top la and How To Ruin Christmas, was laid to rest at the Mooifontein Cemetery in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.

Speaking at the funeral service, her father Freddie Mokoena gave a lengthy eulogy which he said was addressed to his daughter, Busi.

“I’m actually not going to be speaking to you. But I’ll be speaking to uBusisiwe. 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,” said the heartbroken father.

“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,” he said, referencing her fruitful life. “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,” he explained.

Mokoena spoke about the sadness of burying your child instead of it being the other way round.

“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.”

He then spoke about the time he found her laying down and how she used to sing a song, ‘It’s Crying Time Again.’

“I’m sure a number of you would remember, she 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 then realized, it was 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,” he added.

Mokoena comforted her grandmother saying she is at peace, “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,” he closed off.