Mense across Cape Town came out in their numbers on Saturday to mourn the death of former Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie.
From his larney hearse and a convoy of luxury cars, gold and white coffin and thousands of Manenberg residents filling the streets to witness the procession, it was clear that Staggie was still considered a hero by many.
Proceedings got underway at 6.30am on Saturday with a private viewing at Staggie’s home in London Road, Salt River, where he was gunned down a week ago.
A bagpipe player and Staggie’s long-time friend and pastor, Ivan Waldeck, walked ahead of a luxury white Range Rover hearse with wing doors open to a small group of mourners who carried the coffin inside the house.
His daughters could be heard wailing as the body was being carried into the house.
The funeral procession moved to the Jubilee Community Church in Observatory where pallbearers carried Staggie’s white and gold casket into the church followed by his grieving wife, Rashida and their children.
Before entering the church Rashida sobbed as she was comforted by her son.
Some 300 people, including other underworld figures such as Jerome "Donkie" Booysen, attended the funeral service.
Staggie's son, Abdul Boonzaaier also attended the service.
Jerome "Donkie"Booysen at Rashied Staggie's funeral. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane
Taking the stage, Waldeck welcomed Staggie’s “good, dear friends” and told the congregation he spent Friday with Staggie’s family watching videos of a recent family vacation.
“We watched videos of him in Thailand and that was a blessing to him and his wife, a well deserved holiday,” said Waldeck.
Later a video of a 2015 “forgive and forget” service at the New Direction Grace Church in Parow where Staggie asked victims of gang violence for forgiveness was played to the congregation.
At that special service, the former gang boss ironically started his 10-minute speech with the words “no weapon formed against me shall prosper”.
At the time Staggie said he was “the face of everything that went wrong” and admitted that he “hurt many people, indirectly and directly”.
He also said he was the reason a “large amount of drugs that was pumped into the city”.
A video of Staggie asking for forgiveness played during the funeral service. Video: Ayanda Ndamane/ANA
On Saturday Staggie’s daughter, Saadiqa, said she was overseas when her father was assassinated.
“When my dad passed away I was... in China and it took me a while to get here,” she said fighting back tears.
“I knew why I was not here... I know God knew I had to leave before my dad passed away.
“I also know that if I was here and it happened I wouldn’t have been wise, I would have run out and I would have told them (shooters) to stop,” she said.
Staggie’s brother, Solomon told the congregation the family wants justice and not revenge
In Manenberg, where Rashied grew up, residents clapped and cheered as the casket was being carried onto the vast Greens sports field.
People could be seen making gang signs with their hands as the coffin was carried in.
A heavy police presence was visible as thousands of men, women and even children came to see off one of the Cape's most notorious gangsters.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/RashiedStaggie?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RashiedStaggie @IOL @WeekendArgus pic.twitter.com/wHeuBcwiQX
— Tshego Lepule (@tshegofatsang)