The Nonkwelo family from Libode in the Eastern Cape say they have finally found some form of closure after the remains of their daughter were laid to rest this weekend. Thirty-seven-year-old Noluvuyo Nonkwelo-Ndema, a victim of gender-based violence, went missing in July 2019 in Dutywa.
Her decapitated body was discovered two years later, buried under a bathtub in the home she shared with her husband.
The husband, Yibanathi Ndema has since been arrested and charged with her murder.
Nonkwelo-Ndema’s father, Mpendulo Nonkwelo says they are still traumatized but relieved that their daughter has finally been laid to rest in her hometown. He has, however, expressed dissatisfaction with how the police dealt with the case.
“There were leads that Noluvuyo has been assaulted because she was reported missing by her husband. He was the only suspect to be arrested by the police to interrogate him. That means they don’t have the tactics of how to make an investigation. There was a case in 2018 where this guy had been arrested for assaulting my daughter. The case was withdrawn by the Butterworth court. So the guy was very abusive to my daughter,” says Nonkwelo.
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Friends of the victim say Noluvuyo suffered silently at the hands of her husband.
Yonela Matshingana-Sicam says she knew from the onset that the husband was responsible.
“I had spoken to Nolly the previous week. We had a call that was an hour and thirty minutes. In that call, we discussed a lot of things about her marriage. All the things that had happened before. She was definitely abused. But in a sly way. Because it’s that abuser that beats you and then says I’m sorry and then comes and gives you all the things are that gonna make you happy as a woman. He was that kind of person,” says Matshingana-Sicam.
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