Durban - A nursing sister died when an estranged male relative allegedly gunned her down during an argument. She was shot seven times.
The man visited the nurse’s home last Sunday with the intention of getting her expert opinion on the life-threatening disease he suffered. Instead he took her life.
After shooting Matsidiso “Brenda” Ngubane, 51, seven times near the entrance of her Mobeni Heights home, the 51-year-old man turned the gun on himself.
He fired twice into his mouth, but survived.
The man, who is under police guard at the RK Khan Hospital, was due to appear before Chatsworth court Magistrate Leon Ferreira on Wednesday, but his injuries were too severe for him to attend.
He cannot be identified because he has not been charged.
The matter was postponed to later this week for a possible bail application.
The exact nature of the argument between Ngubane and the man was yet to be established.
However, according to a witness from Ngubane’s neighbourhood, who asked not to be named, the man allegedly shouted, “Ngifuna izinkomo zami (I want my cows)” before shooting the nurse twice.
After firing more shots at Ngubane, the man said: “Sengikudubulile, nami sengizozibulala” (I’ve shot you and now I am going to kill myself), as he attempted to take his own life.
When paramedics got to the scene they found the man unconscious, bleeding profusely from his wounds and lying over Ngubane’s body.
SAPS spokesman colonel Jay Naicker confirmed Ngubane’s death and said a case of murder was being investigated by SAPS Bayview investigators.
Ngubane’s daughter, Nontokozo, said the relative was a TB sufferer who wanted medical guidance from her mother and a meeting was arranged.
Nontokozo, 24, who is studying in Pretoria and is Ngubane’s only child, said the man last met her mother in 2010.
She said she had been in telephonic contact with the man before the alleged killing and he had sounded fine.
“He never gave me any indication that he had any malicious intentions,” she said.
Had Nontokozo been in Durban at the time she believed she could have prevented her mother’s tragic death.
When she got “that dreaded call” at around 8.30pm on Sunday, Nontokozo said she felt “useless”.
“I couldn’t do anything to help when my mother needed me; it was too late,” the grief-stricken daughter said.
Nontokozo said her father and mother separated more than 15 years ago.
“My mother was everything to me, she raised me by herself and did everything in her power to ensure my well-being,” she said.
Ngubane, who had been nursing at Clairwood Hospital since 1997, operated a takeaway, which was recently converted into a tavern, in the Mobeni Heights shopping complex.
She briefly operated a pub in the same complex, earlier this year, but that venture failed. Ngubane was also known to be a money lender.
A colleague, who preferred not to be identified, said the nurse had “a heart of gold”.
“Although Brenda (Ngubane) lent money to people, she was a kind-hearted person and often wrote off debts. Some people took advantage of her good nature and never paid their dues,” the colleague said.
“Brenda was a larger-than-life person and was very dedicated to her work,” added the colleague.
The Department of Health also acknowledged the contribution made by Ngubane during her lengthy career as a public servant and condemned the killing.
A joint press statement released by KZN Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo and Head of Department Dr Sibongile Zungu revealed that Ngubane would have completed 18 years of nursing on January 1.
It read: “We are extremely saddened by the passing of Ms Ngubane, who has been described as a hard worker who always performed her duties diligently.
“She was a jovial person who was always full of life. Her death, in such brutal circumstances, is unacceptable and a huge setback to the department's efforts to provide quality health care to all.
“She will be extremely hard to replace.
“We wish to pass our deepest condolences to her family, colleagues and friends.”
Sunday Tribune