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Nothabo Tshuma and her two daughters buried in Bulawayo

Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral service in Bulawayo on Tuesday for a Zimbabwean mother and her two daughters found dead at their home near Bedford in England last month.

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Nothabo-Zandile-Tshuma

A Zimbabwean mother and her two young daughters who were found dead at their home in England last month were buried in Bulawayo on Tuesday, after their bodies were repatriated from the United Kingdom.

Hundreds of mourners filled a church in the Lobengula area of the city for a funeral service, ZimLive reported, with three white coffins carrying Nothabo Zandile Tshuma and her daughters Natalie and Nala placed at the front of the hall. There was no body viewing. Bulawayo mayor David Coltart and Bulawayo provincial affairs minister Judith Ncube attended.

Coltart described the deaths as “a tragedy beyond human comprehension”. Ncube used her remarks to speak about violence in the home, telling mourners that “marriage is supposed to be a little heaven on earth, but many homes have become places of fear and suffering”.

NewZimbabwe.com, which also covered the service, reported that a family representative for the Khumalo side urged relatives to trust the courts rather than seek revenge. “We will allow the law to take its course. We will not be drawn to anger or bitterness. We will not allow this tragedy to define us,” Theophilus Khumalo told mourners.

The three were found dead at their home in Great Denham, near Bedford, in early July. An inquest heard that all three died of head injuries. Nothabo’s husband, Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, was arrested in South Africa in July after British police issued an alert, and is wanted in the United Kingdom in connection with the deaths.

The two outlets gave different accounts of where his case stands in South Africa. ZimLive reported that he is expected to appear in court on 28 August for an extradition hearing. NewZimbabwe.com reported that he is awaiting trial in South Africa on a firearms charge, with those proceedings expected to be concluded before any extradition.

ZimLive reported that the burial took place at Luveve Cemetery.

Sources: ZimLive; NewZimbabwe.com

CRIME

Murder trial of Zimbabwean scientist Dr Fortune Gomo set for January 2028

A 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the racially aggravated murder of Dr Fortune Gomo in Dundee. The trial is due to start in January 2028.

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A trial date has been set in the case of Dr Fortune Gomo, the Zimbabwean scientist killed in Dundee, Scotland, in July last year.

A 21-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to murdering Dr Gomo, 39, and to a separate charge of having a knife in a public place, according to The Scotsman and Voice Online. Prosecutors allege she was repeatedly struck on the body with a knife in Dundee on 5 July 2025. They say the attack was aggravated by prejudice relating to race, nationality or ethnicity. The accused is not named here because the two outlets spell his name differently.

Both outlets report that the trial is due to begin in January 2028 at the High Court in Dundee.

Dr Gomo was an environmental and water resources scientist who had recently started work with Scottish Water. Both outlets say she held a PhD from the University of Dundee. The Scotsman reports she had studied in both Scotland and Zimbabwe, graduating from the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe; it cites social media for her academic record.

The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and no evidence has yet been tested in court.

Sources: The Scotsman; Voice Online.

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CRIME

Ndodana Tshuma pleads guilty to gun charges in Johannesburg, clearing way for UK extradition

The British-Zimbabwean man wanted over the deaths of his wife and two daughters in Bedfordshire has admitted firearms and immigration offences in a South African court. He has not entered a plea to the murder charges.

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Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma has pleaded guilty in a Johannesburg court to illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, and to an immigration offence — a step that clears the way for South Africa to extradite him to Britain.

Tshuma, described by the Associated Press as a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage, is wanted by police in the United Kingdom over the deaths of his wife and their two daughters at the family home in Bedfordshire in July. Prosecutors in Britain say he will face three counts of murder.

The Associated Press reports that the guilty pleas formed part of a plea deal with South African prosecutors, and that South African authorities have said they will move to extradite him once his local court case is concluded. Eyewitness News, whose report was carried by NewZimbabwe.com, said a plea and sentence agreement between Tshuma and the State was before the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court.

He was arrested in Johannesburg in July after fleeing the UK, and was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

It is worth being precise about what Tshuma has and has not admitted. His guilty pleas relate only to the South African firearms and immigration charges. He has not entered a plea to the murder charges, and his lawyer, Chrispen Machingura, has indicated it is unlikely to become public soon how his client intends to plead in Britain, according to Eyewitness News.

The case has been followed closely by Zimbabwean communities in Britain and South Africa since the summer. AllInZimbabwe reported last month that the extradition matter had been rolled over to September in Johannesburg.

Sources: Associated Press, via ZimLive; Eyewitness News, via NewZimbabwe.com.

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High Court frees Mnangagwa’s daughter-in-law on US$5,000 bail in money laundering case

Justice Vivian Ndlovu overturned a magistrate’s ruling that Kelsea Tafirenyika was a flight risk. She denies the allegations and must report to police twice a week.

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The High Court has granted bail to Kelsea Tadiwa Tafirenyika, the daughter-in-law of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in a money laundering case, overturning a lower court’s decision to keep her in custody.

Justice Vivian Ndlovu set bail at US$5,000 and ordered her to report to police twice a week until the case is concluded, according to reports by ZimLive and NewZimbabwe.com. ZimLive says the reporting days are Monday and Friday.

Tafirenyika is the second wife of the President’s twin son, Collins Mnangagwa. The ruling overturns a decision by Harare regional magistrate Francis Mapfumo, who had refused her bail on the grounds that she was a flight risk. Both outlets report that Mapfumo pointed to her access to substantial financial resources and assets. NewZimbabwe.com adds that he also cited property interests outside Zimbabwe, in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Prosecutors allege she laundered money that was used to acquire an extensive portfolio of property and vehicles. The two outlets put the figure slightly differently: ZimLive reports the State’s allegation at US$9.35 million, while NewZimbabwe.com describes the property portfolio as worth close to US$10 million. She also faces an allegation under the Civil Registry Act relating to a forged identity document that carried her photograph under a different name.

Tafirenyika denies the allegations, NewZimbabwe.com reports, and told the magistrates’ court that most of the properties were gifts from her husband.

The money laundering charges followed her rearrest shortly after she was released in a separate drug case. Both outlets report she was taken back into custody almost immediately on her earlier release.

None of the allegations against her have been tested at trial, and she has not been convicted of any offence in this matter.

Sources: ZimLive; NewZimbabwe.com.

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