The mother of KwaZulu-Natal woman Tania Zungu, who was shot dead in her presence and that of her two grandchildren at their New Germany home, is struggling to erase the events which led to her death.
“Till this day I struggle to put my head to rest. All I can hear are the screams and sounds of the gunfire,” said Gwen Msane.
Mxolisi Zungu, Tania's husband — a South African National Defence Force member — is charged with her murder. He handed himself over to police on Friday after several days on the run.
Msane told TimesLIVE what was meant to be a joyous festive period which coincided with Tanya’s return from a trip to China turned into misery. She was selected by the Durban University of Technology for the trip from December 12 to 27.
Recounting the ordeal, Msane said her 36-year-old daughter's last hour was characterised by arguments with her husband. She heard loud screams from her daughter's bedroom.
She went to the bedroom where she found her daughter bleeding. This caused her two grandchildren to run for safety.
“All I could see was gushing blood. We immediately ran outside the house where some neighbours had arrived,” said Msane.
Msane recalled being restless as the incident had necessitated that she take medication. She was being consoled by neighbours.
“I needed to get my blood pressure and heart disease medications which were in the house. However, the neighbours were relentless in advising me not to go inside,” said Msane.
Mxolisi’s sister Lwandle Zungu said the tragedy had taken a heavy toll on their family.
“This was unexpected. We are traumatised. As far as we know there was never any strife between the couple. We know my brother as a protector, even when I am in trouble he is normally the person that I call and he sorts things out,” said Lwandle.
After the death of their parents her brother had taken over the parental role.
Msane said the couple had gone through a rough patch in their marriage.
“They had problems, but things changed after they ... tried to iron out their issues, my son-in-law had also gone through therapy and church counselling. I remember on May 21 2022 they renewed their vows at a church. I don’t know how the situation got to this stage,” said Msane.
Zungu handed himself over to the police on Friday and appeared in court on Monday.
The matter was adjourned to January 17.
Meanwhile, the grieving mother said should the suspect be released on bail their safety would be compromised.
“Some of [his] family members have not been totally remorseful,” she added.
Msane described her daughter as a woman who had ambitions of graduating with a doctorial degree.
Zungu was buried on Sunday.
TimesLIVE
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