By a Correspondent
The bodies of Zimbabwean-born mother Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and her two daughters, Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5, are expected to arrive in Bulawayo on Monday, August 3, where they will be laid to rest.
Nothabo and her daughters were found dead at their home in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, in the United Kingdom, on July 6.
A UK forensic examination reportedly established that the three died from blunt-force trauma. At a hearing in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, on Tuesday, Coroner Emma Whitting opened an inquest into their deaths and adjourned it.
Statements from the coroner’s officers said Nothabo died from head injuries, while Natalie and Nala died from blunt force head injuries.
Police became involved after a cousin raised concerns on July 6, saying she had not spoken to Nothabo for several days and that this was out of character. Checks also showed that the children had not attended school.
An initial welfare visit to another address found it unoccupied, prompting officers to go to the family home, where they discovered the bodies.
As the family prepares for the funerals, Nothabo’s mother, Velile, a retired teacher, has requested that her daughter be buried at Luveve Cemetery, near the family’s home in Gwabalanda, Bulawayo.
The deaths have sent shockwaves through the Zimbabwean community in the UK and back home, with the family’s grief compounded by an ongoing murder investigation spanning three countries.
Nothabo’s husband, Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, also known as Mark, is expected to face three murder charges relating to the deaths of his wife and two daughters, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service.
Tshuma, a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage, was arrested in Kensington, Johannesburg, on July 10 after allegedly leaving Britain two days before the bodies were discovered.
He appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrates Court and was remanded in custody, while South African authorities work with their British counterparts on the process of extraditing him to the UK.
The case has also raised questions over previous police contact with the family.
Bedfordshire Police confirmed that officers had contact with Nothabo in June and subsequently referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We have started an independent investigation into contact Bedfordshire Police officers had with Zandile Tshuma and her daughters Natalie and Nala, prior to their tragic deaths in the Great Denham area of Bedfordshire earlier this month. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Zandile, Natalie and Nala, and all those affected by their deaths.”
Detective Inspector Lee Martin, the senior investigating officer, said the murder investigation remained active and that authorities could not disclose further details while legal proceedings were under way.
“With three murder charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, proceedings around this case remain active and we are not able to provide any further detail at this stage,” he said.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) said Tshuma was traced and arrested through “swift operational co-ordination and intelligence-led policing”.
His arrest brought a measure of relief to a grieving family still struggling to come to terms with the deaths of Nothabo and her two young daughters.
The arrival of the bodies in Bulawayo is expected to allow the family to proceed with funeral arrangements as the legal process in South Africa and the UK continues.
