More than 2,000 mourners assembled in Bulawayo on Tuesday, 4 August, to bid farewell to a Zimbabwean mother and her two young daughters who were killed at their home in Britain the previous month.
British police found the bodies of Nothabo Zandile Tshuma along with her 15-year-old daughter Natalie and five-year-old daughter Nala at their residence north of London after relatives reported being unable to contact them.
Zimbabwe-born Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, who had fled the United Kingdom, was detained in South Africa on 10 July on suspicion of killing his wife and children. He remains in custody there while officials examine an extradition request.
A British inquest determined that Nothabo and her daughters had died as a result of blunt force trauma. White-draped coffins were used during the funeral, which carried an undercurrent of tension because members of both the Khumalo and Tshuma families were present. The remains reached Bulawayo on Monday evening; the burial brought a measure of closure after weeks of mourning for both families.
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Speaking on behalf of the Khumalo side, Theophilus Khumalo told those gathered:
“We will allow the law to take its course, we will not be drawn into anger or bitterness. We will not allow this tragedy to define us, instead we choose to honour their memory with grace, unity and unwavering faith in God’s justice and God’s comfort.”
Theophilus Khumalo, a member of the Khumalo family, said:
“We will allow the law to take its course, we will not be drawn into anger or bitterness,” he said at the funeral.
“We will not allow this tragedy to define us, instead we choose to honour their memory with grace, unity and unwavering faith in God’s justice and God’s comfort.”
The coffins of Ndodana and her children were draped in white for the service, which was tense at times as representatives of both of the couple’s families were present.