A grieving Mpumalanga mother’s confidence in the justice system was restored when the man accused of killing her two daughters was arrested after being on the run for almost three months after allegedly shooting them dead in May.
Samaria Mazibuko, 66, of Kanyamazane, outside Mbombela, said though she has many questions for the man accused of killing her daughters, no answer will bring her inseparable children back to life.
“I had lost hope he would ever be arrested. I’m glad the authorities finally caught him.
They were always together and I used to tell them they should stop doing that because they would leave me alone should something happen. My thinking was around car accidents. I never thought something like this could happen to them
— Samaria Mazibuko
“It’s hard and I wish he had told me what issue he had with them. If they owed him money, he should have told me and I would have made arrangements to pay, no matter what the amount was,” she said.
Mazibuko’s daughter Pretty, 46, and her sister Marcia, 41, who was a police officer, were allegedly fatally shot by Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna, 36.
Nkuna was arrested during a sting operation in Kwa-Thema late last week.
According to Mazibuko, Nkuna and Pretty started dating a few months before the sisters were killed.
Mazibuko said Pretty owned a catering company and also sold clothes. She was building her dream house not far from her family home.
The suspect arrested in connection with their murders made a brief appearance at the Kanyamazane magistrate’s court on Tuesday. He was charged with the murder of the two sisters.
On Monday Nkuna also briefly appeared at the Delmas magistrate’s court on charges of murder, robbery and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. The case is in connection with the murder of 27-year-old Nonkululeko Nkosi from Midrand, who he allegedly met for a date after meeting via Facebook.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said Nkuna is also expected to make a first appearance on August 23 in the Mbombela magistrate’s court in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Hillary Gardee.
“I was shocked to hear he has [allegedly] caused so much pain to so many mothers. Though I don’t know the mothers, I’m thinking of them as we are all suffering the same pain because of one man,” Mazibuko said.
She told TimesLIVE she would never forget seeing the bodies of her daughters on May 15.
“I remember the day vividly. It was a Sunday and Pretty had just brought me lunch because she loved cooking. On Sundays she made sure she cooked for me. Little did I know it was the last meal I would eat prepared by her.
“Marcia had arrived back from work. She changed her uniform and they went to a house on the same street where they usually chilled,” she said.
Mazibuko said a person arrived at her home and told her something terrible happened at the house where her daughters were.
“I rushed there and found Pretty inside her vehicle, which was riddled with bullets. While I was crying, someone told me to go inside the house to see Marcia.
“I found her in a pool of blood. I tried to wake her up, but she was dead.
“I saw my life crumbling right there.”
Mazibuko said her daughters were inseparable.
“They were always together and I used to tell them they should stop doing that because they would leave me alone should something happen. My thinking was around car accidents. I never thought something like this could happen to them.”
Mazibuko said the deaths left her feeling helpless and emotionally destroyed.
“I see no reason to continue working [in her own business]. My children loved me so much and gave me the push to achieve things. I don’t know what to say to their children but I try to distract them so they don’t think too much about what is happening.”
Pretty is survived by two children and two grandchildren, while Marcia is survived by two children and a grandchild.
Mazibuko said Nkuna’s arrest has a sense of relief as she was living in fear.
“I feared he could come to kill all of us because we don’t know why he killed them. I was worried for our safety. I prayed to God to protect us.”
Mazibuko called on the government and the justice system to play their part in ensuring criminals are not easily let off the hook. She said if her daughters’ alleged killer is convicted, “I hope he spends his entire life in jail”.
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