What was intended to be a routine visit for two children turned into an unthinkable tragedy that has left a local mother devastated and a community in shock.
Last Saturday afternoon, 32‑year‑old Thandiwe Mkhize waved goodbye to her two children — eight‑year‑old Lihle and five‑year‑old Sibusiso — as they left to spend time with their father at his home in Tongaat, on the north coast of KwaZulu‑Natal. According to family members, the children’s father, identified by police as 39‑year‑old Mandla Mkhize, had specifically asked for his children to visit.
What Thandiwe believed would be a normal afternoon became a nightmare. Shortly after the children left her home, Thandiwe received a call that changed her life forever. Police had discovered the bodies of Lihle and Sibusiso inside the family home, along with the lifeless body of their father.
Emergency services were alerted after a neighbour reported hearing gunshots and unusual silence from the Mkhize residence on Everton Road. Officers who forced entry found all three deceased with what preliminary reports suggest were gunshot wounds. Police have confirmed foul play and are investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths.
The KwaZulu‑Natal Police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit has taken over the investigation. Senior Constable Themba Zulu told reporters: “At this stage, we are treating this as a murder–suicide. Forensic teams are collecting evidence and the motive is not yet confirmed.”
Friends and neighbours described Mandla and Thandiwe as a couple who had difficulties but believed the children were safe. “She trusted him,” said neighbour Nokuthula Dlamini. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
Thandiwe was inconsolable as she received the news at her home early Sunday. “She collapsed and cried, ‘Why, my babies? What did they ever do?’” a family friend said.
Counsellors and trauma support teams have been dispatched to help the grieving family. The community has since held a candlelight vigil in memory of Lihle and Sibusiso, both described by classmates as joyful and curious children.See_More…