“The past eight days were a painful experience of uncertainty and sadness for the four affected families and many of our fellow South Africans,” Diako said.
Diako said a joint funeral would be held on Sunday for Lesego Matsepe and Mmatholo Mogafe, who were both from Groblersdal in Limpopo Province, while Gregory Mfune’s would be held in Bethlehem in the Free State Province on Saturday, and David Kaise’s funeral will be held in Embalenhle in Mpumalanga Province.
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the search and rescue teams, all the authorities and the people of Mozambique for their important role in the search for the bodies of our beloved.
“Our special gratitude to the residents of the area around Makaneta, where the bodies were separately recovered, for remaining on the watch and alerting the authorities on time,” Diako said.
The four went missing at sea last week while they were out on a trip to celebrate Mogafe’s birthday. The four were part of a group of eight young people in their 20s who took a boat cruise to Inhaca Island on 14 January.
Five members of the group reportedly went swimming, but were swept away from shore by a strong current. One managed to swim back to shore, but the other four – two men and two women – drowned.