Today marks the third Christmas Day since seven members of the Ndou family were gunned down at their home at Jimmy Jones village outside Malamulele in Limpopo.
Enoch Ndou is accused of shooting and killing his two nephews, the heavily pregnant wife of one of them, as well as four children aged between two and 12.
As Ndou’s trial is due to continue on 11 January 2024, Christmas Day triggers memories of the incident.
Noria Ndou lost her two sons, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren on Christmas Day in 2021. Her brother-in-law, Azwidowi Enoch Ndou, stands accused of the murders.
Three years later, the festive season is still a horrible reminder of that dreadful night.
“Right now my grandchildren would be here visiting for the festive season. Nothing hurts more than losing two sons, a daughter in law, four grandchildren in one day. None of them were sick, it all happened suddenly. Whenever I feel happy, I am reminded of their deaths and immediately become sad,” says Noria Ndou the bereaved mother.
The shootings followed a dispute over the ownership of the Ndou family homestead. At the time, Ndivhuwo Ndou, his wife, Portia Mabasa, and five children lived in one of the houses in the yard.
The other house in the yard, was usually occupied by Enoch Ndou when he was on leave from his work in the North West province.
Christmas Day, bad memories for the Ndou family:
Ndivhuwo and Mabasa’s then nine-year old son — who was also sleeping with his siblings — were not harmed. But, Noria says the boy is still traumatised. He had to be relocated from Jimmy Jones to Tswinga village to live his grandmother.
Ndou’s Trial
Ndou’s trial was scheduled to start in June this year. However, his lawyer was granted an application that his client be assessed to determine fitness to stand trial. The lawyer told court that his client was diagonised with bipolar mood disorder, producing records that he had been on treatment since 1999.
But, Noria says in all the years she had known Ndou, he had never shown any signs of being violent.
Since his arrest Enoch Ndou has been admitted to two different psychiatric hospitals for assessment. The court is currently waiting a second report on Ndou’s fitness to stand trial.
For Noria though, the assessments are merely the defence’s attempt for Ndou not to be held accountable for the brutal killings.
