Kutlwano Olifant
A SIX-MONTH-OLD baby has been orphaned after his mother was shot dead by his father, who minutes later turned the gun on himself.
Mandla Myaka, 24, from Mofolo Village in Soweto, had visited his common-law wife Phumzile Madi and their son in Zondi on Friday morning.
Madi’s sister Duduzile Ncongwane said the couple had been sitting in the living room talking while the mother played with their son. Then suddenly they heard a gunshot.
“I rushed into the house and found Phumzile on her knees and slowly falling to the ground facedown. Mandla was already walking towards the front door, leaving the house,” Duduzile sobbed.
“As I went closer to Mandla, asking him what is it that he did, he quickly walked onto the street. As I called his name, he already had a gun to his head and turned towards me.”
Then a gunshot rang out, leaving Mandla on the ground in a pool of blood.
Back in the house, Madi’s mother Elizabeth Ncongwane had jumped out of the bath to find her daughter with her head face down to the ground.
“I looked at her helplessly. She looked very weak, still on her knees and her head to the ground,” Elizabeth said.
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Mandla was obsessed with my daughter. He wanted to know her whereabouts at all times, what she was doing, with whom and when,” she said.
“He use to go through her phone and they would have arguments about calls made or received.”
The night before the incident, Duduzile said Madi had spoken to both her and her mother about filing a protection order against Mandla.
“She had already explained to him about ending their relationship, but it seems Mandla didn’t take the news well,” Duduzile said.
“Now Mandla has taken my child’s life for good. My daughter is gone now,” Elizabeth said.
Speaking to The Star yesterday, Myaka’s elder sister Nonhlanhla Msimango was devastated by his death.
“We left the house together on Friday morning. He was on his way to fetch the child as I was leaving for Roodepoort. He seemed okay when we left.
It is sad for both families, especially when a child is involved,” Msimango said.
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said an inquest docket and a murder case had been opened.