A South African private taxi driver said he had a disturbing encounter with Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma shortly before the Zimbabwean-born British national was arrested.
The allegations are contained in an unverified audio clip circulating on X and have not been independently verified by police.
In the recording, the man, who says he is a private taxi driver, claims the Zimbabwean-born British national, also known as Mark Tshuma, mistook him for one of several men he believed had been hired to kill him.
In his account, the driver says Tshuma came up to him in distress and told him to shoot him: “Shoot me, you were supposed to shoot me.”
The driver claims Tshuma appeared emotionally unstable and convinced he was in imminent danger.
He further alleges that two men who were with Tshuma contacted him to collect the suspect, after which he drove him a short distance.
During the journey, the driver says he saw a message arrive on Tshuma’s phone informing him that police were at his house.
He also claims Tshuma’s mother called during the trip and that he briefly spoke to her before handing the phone back to her son.
According to the driver, he tried to calm Tshuma and repeatedly urged him not to harm himself.
He said Tshuma eventually got out of the vehicle near Rosettenville, despite his attempts to persuade him to stay inside because he appeared deeply troubled.
The driver claims it was only later that evening, after seeing news reports on his phone, that he realised his passenger was the man wanted in connection with the deaths of his wife and two daughters in the United Kingdom.
The account emerged days after South African police disclosed that they believe Tshuma bought an illegal firearm after arriving in Johannesburg and intended to use it to end his own life.
Speaking after Tshuma’s first court appearance on Monday, South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said investigators believed the firearm was bought shortly after he entered the country.
“According to our investigation, after landing in South Africa on July 5, he then went to one of the townships and bought this particular unlicensed firearm,” Mathe said.
“It is our suspicion that this firearm was going to be used to end his life.”
Tshuma, 45, appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday after being arrested in Kensington during a joint operation by SAPS and Interpol.
He faces a charge of possessing an illegal firearm in South Africa, while British authorities are seeking his extradition to face three counts of murder.
Prosecutors allege Tshuma fled the UK after the deaths of his wife, Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and their daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5, who were found dead at their home in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, on 6 July. Post-mortem examinations found they died from blunt force trauma.
The court postponed his case to 22 July to allow verification of his immigration status and for extradition proceedings to continue.
Neither South African nor British investigators have commented on the taxi driver’s claims, and there is no official evidence to substantiate the allegations in the circulating audio recording.
More: Nehanda Radio
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