Durban -
A Jealous man killed his nine-months-pregnant ex-girlfriend in front of their six-year-old daughter on Tuesday before hanging himself from the ceiling of his Inanda home.
Sthembiso Gumede arrived at the one-roomed house in Namibia, Inanda Mission, where Sthembile Purity Ndlovu, 26, was staying, at about 6am.
He pushed open the unlocked door without saying a word, before shooting Ndlovu seven times.
This was according to her 20-year-old sister, Bayanda Ndlovu, who rolled under her bed to hide as shots were fired.
A distraught Bayanda told the Daily News her sister was applying lotion to her body after a bath when Gumede stepped in, gun in hand.
Bayanda said she heard her sister exclaim “Hayibo!” as the door was pushed open.
“When I pulled the blanket to look who that was, I saw Gumede firing shots at my sister. I tumbled over the bed and hid under it while their daughter looked on.
“Gunshots filled the room. I could not dare to come out until the noise (had) died down. The daughter was screaming. I ran outside and shouted to neighbours, who arrived in numbers and called the police. There were bloodstains everywhere on the floor, some splashed on to the curtains and bed covers,” Bayanda said.
Gumede, who was believed to be in his late twenties, fled immediately afterwards.
Bayanda said her sister died instantly.
“She succumbed to a head wound, two on each side of the neck below the jaw, three on her stomach and one wound on her left hand,” Bayanda said.
When the Daily News arrived, Sthembile’s mother, Thandekile Miriam Ndlovu, was surrounded by shocked neighbours who were consoling her. She knelt down screaming while her husband, Francis Ndlovu, helped police to remove his daughter’s body from the bloodied floor.
Bayanda said Gumede had become jealous after Sthembile had broken up with him last year. She said he had threatened her with a knife, demanding she terminate her pregnancy. But Sthembile, who had been in a new relationship, had told him off.
The morning of the shooting, Sthembile was preparing to go to Red Hill clinic after complaining of pains, which might have been related to the pregnancy, said Bayanda.
She said the family needed counselling for the trauma.
A few hours later the Daily News learnt that the police had found Gumede hanging from the roof of his house.
Police spokesman, Thulani Zwane, confirmed this and said an inquest docket had been opened.
Daily News