Constable Sivuyile Mbaduli was calm – and even laughing – minutes before he shot dead his wife, Nokulunga, and brother-in-law Siyabulela Cweba.
Then he shot himself dead.
The Nompumelelo community in Beacon Bay was in shock after the triple slaying on Wednesday evening.
The killings, believed to have taken place amid a marital row, have left four children without a mother and six fatherless.
Eastern Cape police commissioner General Liziwe Ntshinga reacted by urging police officers with “personal wellness challenges” to consult the force’s professional employee assistance support structures.
Police are investigating two counts of murder and an inquest docket.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said Mbaduli, 37, stationed at Kidds Beach, booked off sick from night duty on Wednesday.
“At approximately 5.30pm yesterday [Wednesday] he arrived at his residence and went to the back of the main house where his wife was.”
She said gunshots were fired in the home.
“When [Cweba] entered the shack after he heard the gunshots, he met up with the policeman, who shot him, killing him instantly. It’s believed that, after shooting the brother-in-law, the constable turned the gun on himself.”
Anele Gomba, 28, said she was the last person to speak to Mbaduli.
“[He was] his normal cool and reserved personality” before the incident. “We were laughing with him earlier.”
Mbaduli, whom she had known for over 20 years, sent her to the nearby spaza shop.
“He gave me a R100 note and said I should buy him a packet of cigarettes. When I came back, my mother came and told me not to go to their house because they heard gunshots.”
In fear, neighbours kept their distance, not knowing what had transpired.
“People were scared to go and check what had happened in the house after that. One lady went in the shack and came out with her hands on her head.”
Describing the buildup to the tragedy, she said the couple had an argument in the early hours on Wednesday.
“I heard the wife knocking on the main house calling for her brother. Mbaduli repeatedly said: Ndidikiwe! [I am fed up] and the wife replied: Xa udikiwe ungahambi nje! [If you are fed up why don’t you leave?]”
Peeping through the window she then saw Mbaduli drive off in his car. “He came back later and left again until I saw him in the afternoon when he sent me to the spaza shop.”
She said the family showed no sign of major tension. The couple had four children together, aged 15, 12, 9 and 7.
Cweba, 44, lived with his girlfriend and two children, aged 10 and two.
“We were all living happily in this area. I used to plait his wife and children’s hair. They were a fun family to live with.”
According to an employee at the Happy Spaza shop nearby: “We heard about six or seven gun shots and people started to run away and disappear from the streets. After the shots were fired I quickly closed our burglar gate and a few minutes later I saw people crying.”
He said Mbadula was a regular customer who never quarrelled. “Every day he came to buy here. We have never thought of him as dangerous.”
But a family member said the couple had marital problems. “They often had their arguments and we would be called in to help them resolve their challenges amicably.”
She said Nokulunga recently called Mbadula’s parents to ask them to talk to him about some of the challenges they were facing in their marriage.
“When the mother arrived at their place, he told her to go away if she did not want to be shot at. He said the same thing to his oldest child.
“The brother-in-law [Cweba] had often told him to pack his clothes and leave his sister instead of ill-treating her.”
Ntshinga said they would render the necessary employee health and wellness assistance to the family.
According to the latest crime statistics released in Cape Town by police minister Bheki Cele, the Eastern Cape was flagged as the second-most murderous province in SA for women and children...