Did Nonkanyiso Mgwaba really jump out of a moving car on the N3 highway? This is one of the questions confronting the Mgwaba family after their teenage daughter died in mysterious circumstances at the start of July.
The 18-year-old from KwaMashu was declared dead at the King Edward Hospital in Durban on July 1, 2024. She was in the hospital’s high care unit since the night of Saturday, June 29.
Nonka, as her friends and family called her, had left home with her 33-year-old boyfriend three nights earlier on Friday, June 28.
On the Saturday night, the boyfriend reported to the family that he did not know the whereabouts of Nonkanyiso after she apparently jumped out of his moving car.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Constable Thenjiwe Ngcobo said police in Westville were investigating a case of culpable homicide “after an incident in which an 18-year-old girl sustained injuries from an accident that occurred at Westville on Saturday June 29, 2024.
“She was conveyed to a nearby hospital for medical attention. Reports indicate that she later died at the hospital,” said Ngcobo.
Family wants answers
As police continue to investigate Nonka’s mystery death, Mgwaba’s family is seeking the community’s assistance in uncovering the truth surrounding the mysterious death of their daughter.
Nonkanyiso was a Grade 12 learner from Nhlakanipho High School in KwaMashu and a mother to her three year-old son, Hlelo.
She lived at her KwaMashu Section D home with her 46-year-old mother, her 97-year-old grandmother, two older siblings and her one-year-old son.
A family spokesperson who spoke to IOL, did not want to be named, said the young mom was an ever-smiling, extroverted and a loving young girl who enjoyed her life.
The family said they last saw Nonkanyiso on Friday, June 28, when her 33-year-old boyfriend fetched her to take her to his Chesterville home.
“As it was a weekend, we knew she would not be home for long as she normally visits her boyfriend or friends during the weekend.
“They left in the afternoon in the boyfriend’s car to go to Chesterville.
“The boyfriend came back later that evening, to tell us that he cannot find Nonka as she jumped out of the car as he was driving around Chesterville”, said the family.
According to the family, the boyfriend claimed to have looked for her, but he could not find her.
They opened a missing person’s case at the nearest police station last Sunday and posted on Facebook for assistance.
“A guy who saw my post happened to be a nurse at King Edward Hospital recognised Nonka from the picture, and called me on the number I provided on the post.
“He told me that she has passed on and I should come to identify the body,” she said, adding they received the information on Monday afternoon. By Monday night they had identified Nonkanyiso.
According to the family, they received information that Nonka’s injured body was discovered on the side of the N3 freeway near Pavilion Mall on Saturday, June 29. She was rushed to hospital on that same night.
She arrived at King Edward hospital high care unit at 7pm. She was declared deceased on July 1. They identified her on the same night.
Nonkanyiso Mgwaba is expected to be buried this Saturday, July 13.
No arrests have been made.
IOL News