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A crime scene cordoned off.
Family and relatives of the 25-year-old woman who was killed by her partner say they’ve been left devastated. Nontobeko Cele’s body was found in the middle of the road with several stab wounds at Umzinto, south of Durban on Tuesday.
The suspect, Sibusiso Mntaka confessed to the killing in a video, which went viral on social media platforms. Following the incident, police confirmed that Mntaka had been found hanging from a tree in a suspected suicide.
The brutal murder of 25-year-old Cele has sparked widespread outrage. Her family says her partner Mntaka had paid lobola and was regarded as part of the family.
They learnt of their daughter’s brutal death through the video on social media posted by Mntaka.
The Cele family are still in shock and outraged by Mntaka’s actions. They revealed details of abuse in the events leading up to Nontobeko’s murder.
“We first saw the video on social media. At first, I thought I was dreaming but I was not. The manner in which he brutally killed our child and the way he was speaking in that video made me sick. I was confused, I do not understand why he would do this. Since we viewed him as our son-in-law as per customary, he has never come to this house to inform us that he was not happy with Nontobeko,” says Thembisile Cele, Nontobeko’s grandmother.
Cele’s uncle refuted the allegations made by the suspect in the video. He said that Mntaka was an abusive partner.
“He is the one who ran her over with his car which is why Nontobeko was receiving money for RAF. She never left this house because she feared this man. He is a coward. Since he paid lobola for her he was supposed to inform the family that the child was not his which is a lie. He could have left her for another woman and not to kill her. As men we condemn this kind of a behaviour,” says Sibongiseni Cele, Nontobeko’s uncle.
The suspect’s family say they baffled by their son’s gruesome act.
“It is painful, we heard from neighbours who came to show us the video on social media. He didn’t say anything to us. He was a very quiet person with a short temper since he was a child. But he has never hit anyone he’d take out his anger on an object, not a person,” says Fikelephi Mntaka, mother.
A close neighbour says the community is in disbelief.
“He grew up in front of me and I don’t know any bad things he had done. His parents are good parents and they have good teachings. What he did is painful but on the other side he did the good thing for telling us the reasons behind his actions,” says Zakhona Khwela, Mntaka’s neighbour.
The police are investigating the incident as a murder and have opened an inquest docket to further investigate the circumstances of Mntaka’s death.
Video: Umzinto – Nontobeko Cele’s family further devastated by seeing her murder laid bare on social media
