Sisters stunned by Ndlovu’s killing spree

“We did not know why people were being killed until she was arrested.”

These are the words of the eldest sister of convicted murderer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, Anna Ndlovu Mabunda, in reaction to the Johannesburg High Court finding her guilty of killing relatives and her lover, and cashing in insurance policies she had taken out on them between 2012 and 2018.

“What can I say? I have no remorse or pain over what happened. My sister killed a lot of our family members. When she got arrested we were surprised because we were not sure at that stage. When we heard that it was really her behind the killings, we were all surprised.

“I don’t feel pain for her because of what she did to her own family. Why should I feel pain for someone who killed so many people? It was a correct judgment,” Ndlovu-Mabunda said yesterday.

She said she would accept whatever sentence the court hands down to Ndlovu, a former cop based in Tembisa South.

Ndlovu was found guilty of killing her boyfriend, Maurice Mabasa, whose body had over 80 stab wounds, in October 2015; her cousin, Witness Madala Homu, who was found with head injuries in March 2012; and her sister, Audrey, who was found poisoned and strangled in her rented room in Tembisa in June 2013.

She’s also guilty of killing her niece, Zanele Motha, who died after apparently being involved in a hit-and-run accident in Kempton Park in June 2016; her nephew, Mayeni Mashaba, who died in April 2017 on the same day he had arranged to meet Ndlovu in Daveyton on the East Rand.

Ndlovu’s last victim was her nephew, Brilliant Mashego, who was Audrey’s son. He died in January 2018 after meeting Ndlovu in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.

Ndlovu, 46, was also found guilty of the attempted murder of her mother, Maria Mushwana, defeating the ends of justice and fraud for insurance scams against Clientele, One Life, Old Mutual and Assupol insurers.

She claimed over R1.4min total.

Joyce Ndlovu, her younger sister, told Sowetan yesterday that she was still trying to come to terms with what happened.

“I cannot reject the judgment because it is what the court decided. It is what they saw that it is correct to do. It is true that my sister wanted to kill me as well but as a sister I still feel for her. It is really painful. It is a pity there is nothing we can do about it.”

Jabu Nhlapo, who lost his wife, Zanele Moyo, during Ndlovu’s killing spree, said he was relieved at the judgment.

“It feels as if something has been lifted from my shoulders. I do feel though that whatever sentence she will get will not be enough for the pain she has caused. What I do believe is that now she will not be able to do what she did to other people. I’m happy that her family and other people can now be safe... She didn’t care about how other people could be affected by her actions,” he said.

Nhlapo said his concern was his three children. “My children are with my mom. The thought that they could see what is happening [in court] is what badly affected me. It really hurt me. My children will live with that kind of information for the rest of their lives,” Nhlapo said.