A KwaZulu-Natal family is reeling in shock after a man known to them allegedly entered their house while they were out running errands and killed their three children who were fast asleep.
Walking into a bloody scene with three small lifeless bodies soaking wet in their own blood is a constant reminder to the Khumalo family of the brutality meted out on their young relatives.
One of the children was living with a disability.
Ayabonga Khumalo, 7, Amanda Khumalo, 9, and Kwanele Gumede, 15, were sleeping when a man known to them allegedly used a bush knife to hack them to death.
At the time, the parents had gone on an errand at night, leaving them sleeping. The incident has sent shockwaves in the village of Lulwane in Manguzi, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
According to Smanga Khumalo, a family member, he together with one of the children’s mother made the gruesome discovery when they entered the room where they had left the children sleeping.
The mother was inconsolable, he said. “We called for the kids to open the door and were surprised when nobody answered. We then pushed the door open, and their mother then lit a candle. This is when we saw the children lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The elder child had a gaping wound on her neck and several wounds on her body,” he said.
Khumalo added that the other two children had severe stabbing wounds on their bodies. He said that since the incident happened, the children’s mother has been battling to eat or sleep. “The sad part is that the person who committed this terrible act is known to the family.
“We are told by other community members that after he killed the kids, he said he was teaching their father a lesson. We do not know what their dispute is, but he shouldn’t have avenged it on innocent children,” said Khumalo.
Kwanele was a pupil at Thongwana High School, while Ayabonga attended Mengu Primary School. Amanda, who was living with disabilities, never attended school.
Local councillor Senzo Mkhumbuzi described the killings as heinous. “This is shocking and animal-like behaviour, which should not be tolerated. These were innocent kids who had done nothing wrong. We want the perpetrator to feel the full force of the law,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said police have arrested one suspect after the children were “butchered to death” with a bush knife. “Reports indicate that the mother of the children was out running errands on her small business, and when she went home, she found her three children aged seven, nine, and 15 butchered to death.
“Police were summoned to the scene and investigations began. On Sunday morning, the suspect was arrested and he appeared in the Emanguzi magistrate’s court on Monday.”
The man is expected back in court on Wednesday.
