Beautiful bouquets of flowers surrounded murdered detective Charl Kinnear’s coffin during his funeral service on Saturday at Every Nation Church in Goodwood, Cape Town.

But shortly after the service moved outside in preparation for mourners to proceed to the cemetery, a group of people collected the flowers and placed them in old paint containers. “They have served their purpose,” said one.

The same sentiment emerged from Kinnear’s son Casleigh’s address to mourners: his father had purpose in life, and he had served it faithfully.

“First, I would like to thank our heavenly father for blessing us with a wonderful, remarkable man that is my father,” Casleigh told his father's friends, family and colleagues who came to pay their last respects.  

He thanked Kinnear's fellow police officers who took turns to protect him and his family when it became evident that his life was in danger.  

“As a family, we cannot thank you enough for standing by my dad’s side for all these years,” said Casleigh.

“We know that it wasn’t easy but we as a family humbly appreciate your sacrifice and your service.

“For the nights that you spent outside our house, making sure that my dad is safe and that we are safe — although the media did not put it out there — we as a family will forever remember your sacrifice.”

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Casleigh said his mother, Nicolette, had been asking him all week about what he was going to say at the funeral. “She knows that I have my dad's mind. She knows I do not shy away, I don’t fear cameras and I don’t fear names,” he said.

“But today, it is not that day. So for those who are feeling knots in the stomach, today is not your day. It’s my dad’s day.

“My dad was a selfless man. My dad woke up every morning at 4.30am when some of you are still sleeping and he would be out there and serving the country.

“My dad would come home sometimes past midnight, at 2.30am and [look] at these very detailed dockets until 3.30am in the morning and by 4:30 is ready to leave.”

Casleigh said Kinnear’s dedication to his job was admirable. “My dad believed in his values, my dad believed in the morals that my grandfather instilled in him and he has passed them on to my brother and I,” he said.

“We will miss him dearly but my dad’s legacy will live on forever. We as a family believe the passing of my dad would be the birth of a new generation of police officers. Not the lazy ones who sit in their offices ...

“My dad said: ‘If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.’ So I would like to say to each and every police officer: stand firm in what you believe in, stand firm in the oath that you took. Even though you may have, for your own reasons, wandered off that road, it’s never too late.”  

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