“Why did he kill my husband? He was a caring man who worked hard to support his family. Now that he is gone, things have totally changed and I don’t know what the future holds for me and my little kid.”

These are the words of the grieving Fhumulani Makhesha (25), whose husband, Elvis Khorommbi (46), was brutally shot dead during an alleged power struggle for traditional leadership at Hamakuya-Sanari near Tshikondeni Mine recently. To add more pain, Fhumulani’s brother, Mbudzeni, hanged himself a day after the brutal murder of her husband.

The unemployed Fhumulani has since relocated to her parents’ home because she says she has been traumatised by the incidents. “I’m now afraid to stay at my husband’s place because I fear that something bad might happen. The incidents never go out of my mind and I no longer enjoy life like before…”

Headman Azwihangwisi Mukomawabani (58) of Ha-Mukomawabani Village, briefly appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court last week. He has been charged with murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm following the incident. He will remain in police custody until he appears in court again at a later date.

While holding Thikho, her one-year-old child, Fhumulani explains the events of the fateful Friday that claimed the life of her husband: “It was at about 19:00 when my husband’s cell phone rang. Shortly after answering the call, he went out. I then heard a gunshot but never suspected anything. After some few minutes, a certain old lady came to my house and told me that my husband had been shot in the street next to our house. I went there and tried to revive him, but in vain.”

Fhumulani now puts her trust in the law and she hopes the punishment will suit the suspect. “I hope he rots in jail, because what he did is inhuman.”