PANDEMONIUM descended on the funeral of eight-year-old Danielle Rowe on Sunday as her relatives fumed over alleged interference in the programme by non-family members.

Rowe was the little girl who was abducted from outside Braeton Primary School in Portmore, St Catherine, on June 8, and transported to St Andrew where she was later found with her throat slashed. She died two days later at hospital with tears on her face, her mother Sudine Mason had said.

At her funeral, held at Portmore Seventh-Day Adventist Church, some relatives erupted in anger.

Yvette, a woman said to be a grand-aunt of Rowe, was irate outside the church, as seen in videos circulating on social media.

It is said that “politics” and her name being left off the programme drew the ire of the relative who became enraged and started loudly voicing her disapproval while pacing between the church building and the compound.

It is further alleged that she was angry after she was asked to refrain from speaking in tongues inside the Adventist Church, which does not subscribe to the practise.

Someone in the crowd that had gathered on the church grounds encouraged Yvette to calm down, but the woman refused and grew even more irate.

“Come family, come. Everybody come,” the woman said as she attempted to persuade her relatives to follow her and leave the church compound, even while the service was still under way.

“If you don’t come with me none of you can chat to me after today. Family, come! We want it to end. You nuh see a politics? Dem cut out your family dem and nobody can’t say anything, only minister this and minister that. Dem tek me off the programme because dem hear seh me is a woman apostle. They were out of order to take me off the programme and put some people weh we nuh know. A pure stranger and politician,” the woman said, ranting on the church compound.

“We sat down there as family and nobody was talking about family. Who the hell you think you are, bout we can’t speak in tongues? Tell them to take her out and bury her now. They sat ignoring family like they are gods. This is politics. She nah go down inna politics.”

One woman chimed in, claiming that the “family members haven’t even prayed yet and it’s pure stranger in front of us”.

Another woman who was obviously perturbed claimed that there was far too much mention of education and youth minister Fayval Williams during the service.

“I was tired of hearing Fayval, Fayval, Fayval,” the woman said.

When the Jamaica Observer spoke to Williams on Sunday she rebuffed many of the claims made by relatives and people close to the family.

The minister said she was not aware of her ministry or the Government having any influence on the programme. She said that when she got to the church, she was given a copy of the funeral programme and shortly after was called to the vestry and told that only one representative of the Government would be allowed to speak.

“The pastor of the church informed us that the family did not want to have a lot of speeches, and that they would only allow one person to speak and that would be me in my capacity as a government official. It was agreed by all in the room and we came out, sat down, and listened to the service. I was there from beginning to end.

“If you look at the programme, every part of it went through. All the speakers who were on it either spoke or sang and did their part. When I was called, I got up and gave my remarks. I do not know that the ministry had any role in the planning of the funeral other than what we were asked to do. In times like these the ministry does come forward and support families. This is something we pledge at the beginning and we follow through with it. It is not unusual,” Williams told the Observer.

Following the Observer interview with Williams the Government issued a press release saying it had no involvement in the planning of the funeral.