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Johannesburg - The death of 4-year-old Taegrin Morris who was dragged to death by hijackers in Reiger Park, east of Johannesburg, has united the community and the country, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said on Saturday.
"The prince of peace has united this community in a way that was never seen before in the past 20 years. And indeed the prince has united our country," Makhura told mourners at the toddler's funeral.
"We are deeply hurt as all parents, moved by the pain he endured in his passing [and] by the manner in which the heartless killers took his live.
Morris died after being dragged for a long distance behind a hijacked car last Saturday night.
He was in a VW Golf with his mother and sister in Reiger Park, when the hijackers approached them.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Khensane Magoai said they ordered the family out of the vehicle. Taegrin was left hanging halfway out of the car in his safety belt and was dragged as the car was driven off by the hijackers.
He was found dead in Boksburg, about 8-10km away.
Makhura described the hijackers as heartless, because they did not listen to the toddler's cries.
"We should say in his name 'genoeg is genoeg' [enough is enough]. We have to find all of them and drive them out of our communities," he said.
"We know where they live and we know who the drug dealers are in the community. We know whose children they are, we know some of them are being hidden in the houses that we know."
He said the Reiger Park community would never be the same after Morris' funeral.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza said no arrests had been made by Saturday.
The SABC reported that Morris' body was displayed publicly for viewing in the centre of the Reiger Park Stadium.
Friends and family stood around the light brown coffin, which was surrounded by pictures of the toddler, car toys and flowers.
The child’s parents released white doves at the funeral, reported Eyewitness News.
"The prince of peace has united this community in a way that was never seen before in the past 20 years. And indeed the prince has united our country," Makhura told mourners at the toddler's funeral.
"We are deeply hurt as all parents, moved by the pain he endured in his passing [and] by the manner in which the heartless killers took his live.
Morris died after being dragged for a long distance behind a hijacked car last Saturday night.
He was in a VW Golf with his mother and sister in Reiger Park, when the hijackers approached them.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Khensane Magoai said they ordered the family out of the vehicle. Taegrin was left hanging halfway out of the car in his safety belt and was dragged as the car was driven off by the hijackers.
He was found dead in Boksburg, about 8-10km away.
Makhura described the hijackers as heartless, because they did not listen to the toddler's cries.
"We should say in his name 'genoeg is genoeg' [enough is enough]. We have to find all of them and drive them out of our communities," he said.
"We know where they live and we know who the drug dealers are in the community. We know whose children they are, we know some of them are being hidden in the houses that we know."
He said the Reiger Park community would never be the same after Morris' funeral.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza said no arrests had been made by Saturday.
The SABC reported that Morris' body was displayed publicly for viewing in the centre of the Reiger Park Stadium.
Friends and family stood around the light brown coffin, which was surrounded by pictures of the toddler, car toys and flowers.
The child’s parents released white doves at the funeral, reported Eyewitness News.
