A policeman is in critical condition after apparently shooting and killing his new wife, a doctoral student, before turning the gun on himself.
The horrific incident happened in a small, comfortable garden cottage in Riverview Road in Greenfields, East London, on Thursday at 9.30pm.
The couple, who were married in December, were found 15 hours after the gunshots were heard in the house of their landlady, who had put the noise down to doors being banged.
Public order police Constable Sakhiwe Sifama, 35, is fighting for his life in Life St Dominic’s private hospital after surviving the bullet fired into his head, said his cousin Nkosiyabo Sifama.
Sifama is said to have killed his agricultural studies PhD student bride Lumka Dastile-Sifama, 30.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said a murder case had been opened but the motive of the killing was not known.
The officer’s family was also in the dark about the motive behind the incident.
Nkosiyabo said: “All I can say is that we are shocked by the incident because Sakhiwe was the kind of person who would normally tell us if he was experiencing problems in the marriage.
“He didn’t say anything and I last saw them together earlier that same day in good spirits.”
The landlady, who owns the cottage the couple lived in and who lives in the main house with her family, said two gunshots rang out at 9.30pm.
The shots were heard about 90 minutes after Constable Sifama arrived home from work.
“My older sister was watching The Queen while I was in bed with my three kids.
“I woke up after she screamed and told me that she heard two gunshots,” said the landlady.
She said she telephoned Lumka Dastile-Sifama to see if everything was alright, but her tenant didn’t pick up.
“We went back to bed thinking that maybe we had heard wrong – maybe it was door bangs.”
She said it was about 30 minutes into the afternoon on Freedom Day that they grew concerned about the silence shrouding the cottage.
The first sign that something was wrong was that the Sifamas’ cottage was closed up, yet their car was parked there.
“It was a very hot day, so it was rather strange that the doors and windows were still shut.
“That was when I called the police.”
The landlady said that with her permission, police officers kicked the door down.
They were greeted by the couple lying in pools of blood.
She said the husband was lying near the door and kept moving his limbs slowly from time to time.
The wife lay dead near the bed.
Nkosiyabo said doctors doubted his cousin would survive.
“The situation is very bad.
“He is badly swollen, and the bullet penetrated through his head and took away a small piece of his brain.
“Because of this, the doctors say if he survives, he will never be the same again.”
Constable Sifama was from Noncampa Village outside King William’s Town, while Dastile-Sifama was from Hofmeyr, said Nkosiyabo.
The landlady said Sifama was meant to have reported for duty on the morning of Freedom Day.
Describing the moments leading up to the shooting, the landlady said: “I opened the gate for him when he hooted at 8pm.
“I was surprised that he was coming home at that time but his colleague later explained that he pulled an overtime .”
The landlady then revealed that she had stepped in and talked to Sifama after being told that he assaulted his wife last month.
“His wife told me that it was the first time her husband had beaten her since meeting him a year ago.”
The couple got married in December on the anniversary of their first date, according to the landlady.
Nkosiyabo said funeral arrangements for Lumka Dastile-Sifama would be considered after a postmortem had been done at the state mortuary in West Bank. —
malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
Cop shoots bride, turns gun on self
The horrific incident happened in a small, comfortable garden cottage in Riverview Road in Greenfields, East London, on Thursday at 9.30pm.
The couple, who were married in December, were found 15 hours after the gunshots were heard in the house of their landlady, who had put the noise down to doors being banged.
Public order police Constable Sakhiwe Sifama, 35, is fighting for his life in Life St Dominic’s private hospital after surviving the bullet fired into his head, said his cousin Nkosiyabo Sifama.
Sifama is said to have killed his agricultural studies PhD student bride Lumka Dastile-Sifama, 30.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said a murder case had been opened but the motive of the killing was not known.
The officer’s family was also in the dark about the motive behind the incident.
Nkosiyabo said: “All I can say is that we are shocked by the incident because Sakhiwe was the kind of person who would normally tell us if he was experiencing problems in the marriage.
“He didn’t say anything and I last saw them together earlier that same day in good spirits.”
The landlady, who owns the cottage the couple lived in and who lives in the main house with her family, said two gunshots rang out at 9.30pm.
The shots were heard about 90 minutes after Constable Sifama arrived home from work.
“My older sister was watching The Queen while I was in bed with my three kids.
“I woke up after she screamed and told me that she heard two gunshots,” said the landlady.
She said she telephoned Lumka Dastile-Sifama to see if everything was alright, but her tenant didn’t pick up.
“We went back to bed thinking that maybe we had heard wrong – maybe it was door bangs.”
She said it was about 30 minutes into the afternoon on Freedom Day that they grew concerned about the silence shrouding the cottage.
The first sign that something was wrong was that the Sifamas’ cottage was closed up, yet their car was parked there.
“It was a very hot day, so it was rather strange that the doors and windows were still shut.
“That was when I called the police.”
The landlady said that with her permission, police officers kicked the door down.
They were greeted by the couple lying in pools of blood.
She said the husband was lying near the door and kept moving his limbs slowly from time to time.
The wife lay dead near the bed.
Nkosiyabo said doctors doubted his cousin would survive.
“The situation is very bad.
“He is badly swollen, and the bullet penetrated through his head and took away a small piece of his brain.
“Because of this, the doctors say if he survives, he will never be the same again.”
Constable Sifama was from Noncampa Village outside King William’s Town, while Dastile-Sifama was from Hofmeyr, said Nkosiyabo.
The landlady said Sifama was meant to have reported for duty on the morning of Freedom Day.
Describing the moments leading up to the shooting, the landlady said: “I opened the gate for him when he hooted at 8pm.
“I was surprised that he was coming home at that time but his colleague later explained that he pulled an overtime .”
The landlady then revealed that she had stepped in and talked to Sifama after being told that he assaulted his wife last month.
“His wife told me that it was the first time her husband had beaten her since meeting him a year ago.”
The couple got married in December on the anniversary of their first date, according to the landlady.
Nkosiyabo said funeral arrangements for Lumka Dastile-Sifama would be considered after a postmortem had been done at the state mortuary in West Bank. —
malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
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