Zimbabwean Mother And Two Daughters Found Dead In UK Laid To Rest In Bulawayo

A Zimbabwean mother and her two daughters who were murdered in Britain last month were laid to rest at Old Luveve Cemetery in Luveve, Bulawayo, on Tuesday, 4 August 2026.

Nothabo Zandile Tshuma (née Khumalo), 42, and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5, were found dead at their home in Great Denham, near Bedford, on 6 July.

Her husband, Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, was arrested in Johannesburg on suspicion of murdering his wife and children.

Tshuma remains in custody in South Africa, where he is also facing a separate firearms charge. UK authorities are working to secure his extradition to stand trial.

Speaking at the funeral, family spokesperson and director of ceremonies Leon Khumalo said the bodies were discovered by Thembie Ncube (née Magonya), a cousin and close relative of Nothabo, and her husband Jabu Ncube, after days of trying to contact the family.

The couple, who were neighbours to Nothabo in the UK, had raised the alarm after not seeing her or the children for several days.

“On Saturday they didn’t see Nothabo and the children, Sunday they were not there and also on Monday,” said Khumalo.

“Thembi and her husband Jabu Ncube started looking for them the whole day on Monday. On Tuesday they broke into the house and found the three dead.”

It was Khumalo who had to break the devastating news to Nothabo’s parents and described the event as one of the most painful experiences of his life.

The funeral drew government officials, church leaders, family, friends and hundreds of mourners who came to bid farewell to a mother and her two daughters whose deaths in the UK had touched many across Zimbabwe and beyond.

Ntsika Dakamela, representing the Magonya family, Zandile’s maternal side, said they had expected Ndodana’s relatives to visit their home and apologise in line with cultural tradition.

“The Tshuma family has not come to apologise to us. They were supposed to come to the gate, kneel and say they were sorry because what happened was not of their doing,” said Dakamela.

“We don’t want people to speculate. We expected them to come, but they did not. They took it lightly.”

Later in the service, Talent Mnkandla, speaking on behalf of the Tshuma family, offered condolences to the Khumalo family, saying they shared in their grief and would keep both families in prayer.

More: The Herald