Family ‘in pain’ after grandmother, partner arrested for murder of Soweto boys
The family of murdered five-year-old Mduduzi Zulu says it is tormented after the arrest of a close relative for the brutal killings of Mduduzi and his cousin, six-year-old Tshiamo Rabanye, in Soweto last week.
Nqobile Ndlovu, the grandmother of Tshiamo, was arrested and charged with murder after the police’s forensic unit combed her home on Tuesday.
The boys were allegedly killed so that their body parts could be used for muti.
According to family members of Mduduzi who spoke to the Mail & Guardian, the boys were found with their throats slit and part of their genitals removed.
Gcina Tshabalala, a cousin of Mduduzi, said it was “painful for the family” after it was confirmed that Ndlovu was allegedly part of the murder plot.
“How could she have murdered her own?” asked Tshabalala.
If she had an opportunity to talk to Ndlovu, Tshabalala said she would ask her what she had felt when she committed the murders, and why she did it.
Tshiamo was Ndlovu’s only grandson. She had acted as his guardian since his mother died. The father did not play an active role in his life.
Bonga Zulu, the uncle of Mduduzi, told the M&G that although there was crime in the area, the killing of children was “not a normal occurrence”.
Tshiamo’s aunt, Ntandose Ngwenya, did not want to speak to the M&G when asked about Ndlovu’s arrest on Wednesday.
Tshiamo and Mduduzi will be buried on Friday. A memorial was held for both boys on Wednesday.
A day before her arrest, Ndlovu, 50, told the M&G during a visit to her home that she was not ready to talk about the state in which her grandson’s body was found. She had just returned from the mortuary to confirm the correct size for Tshiamo’s coffin.
She claimed the murder shocked her, and that she was “not okay”.
Ndlovu maintained that although she was not at work the afternoon the boys had disappeared she was “not around” in the area.
It is now understood the cousins were last seen alive playing outside Tshiamo’s house. Ndlovu’s partner, referred to by family members as the step-grandfather, was also arrested.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the police announced the multi-disciplinary team that was established to investigate the murders “have cracked the case with the arrest of a 50-year-old woman and her 39-year-old partner” after being questioned by the police.
The two are expected to appear in the Protea magistrate’s court on Friday.