The family of Ntobeko Cele, 25, who was stabbed to death by her partner who posted a video of her body before committing suicide, has expressed its anguish about how the killer’s family have depicted them in public.
Sbusiso Ntaka stabbed his fiancee, Cele, on Tuesday.
Nhlonipho Cele, Ntobeko’s aunt, accused the killer’s father, Sipho Ntaka, of peddling lies in the public domain.
“We had trusted Sbu’s father because he is a priest and a sangoma. We don’t really know what he is talking about when he says there were DNA tests conducted on the couple’s child,” said Cele. After Ntaka had killed Cele, he had claimed in a video he posted that he was not the father of the child.
She also did not take kindly to allegations that Ntobeko was “a drinker”, alleging Ntaka was the one who was a heavy drinker.
“If anything it was the son who drank heavily. Sbu was psychotic but he was undiagnosed,” said Cele.
She said that in May, Ntaka had run over Ntobeko in his vehicle while drunk. “He had claimed he did not see her but that is not true because he had left her dead, lying down. He [Ntaka] had run straight to his parents. We had to phone him later,” said Cele.
Despite the tumultuous relationship, Ntobeko had patched things up with Ntaka.
“In retrospect we made a mistake by not getting Ntaka arrested. Ntobeko had felt this would have made things difficult because there was a child involved and because Sbu was employed in government,” said Cele.
She said the family was devastated by the incident as Ntobeko’s life held so much promise.
“The family had invested in Ntobeko’s life and she went as far as college. Sbu was not a good person because he would often hack WhatsApp conversations on her phone,” said Cele. Ntobeko was described as a respectful young woman who loved church.
Ntaka had arrived at their home and asked to take the child to buy Christmas clothes on Tuesday.
KwaZulu-Natal police said Ntaka had recorded his murder confession with blood visible on his face and T-shirt and posted the gruesome details on social media.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said Ntaka, a primary school teacher, was found hanging from a tree on Wednesday at Malangeni in Umzinto, a short distance from where he killed Ntobeko.
On Tuesday evening, police responded to reports of a murder on a gravel road at Malangeni where the body of the 25-year-old was found lying in the middle of the road. Her bloodied body had several stab wounds and a broken knife was found nearby.
“Reports indicate the suspect fetched the woman, who was his [former] girlfriend, from her home and it is suspected the two had a domestic-related altercation which escalated into murder. The suspect’s vehicle was found abandoned down the road from where the woman’s body was found and blood on the front passenger seat suggested the suspect killed the woman inside his vehicle.”
Netshiunda said an intensive search by police led to the discovery of the suspect’s body hanging from a tree, in what is believed to be a suicide. Police are investigating a case of murder and an inquest docket will also be opened for further investigation.
In a viral social media video, a visibly upset Ntaka talks about how he murdered his partner.
“You are going to say I am cruel but I have done my best to make sure I make this woman happy. I lost everything and lots of money in the process. She gave birth to a child which is not mine. I tolerated her and took care of the child,” said Ntaka.
He said the woman broke up him not because he did anything wrong but because she was expecting money from the Road Accident Fund and no longer needed him.
Ntaka’s father Sipho said the pair had problems.
“My son was a man of a few words. It was only when he had consumed alcohol he would open up about things. He used to hide things for us and sometimes to protect his wife,” said Sipho.
Women for Change condemned the circulation of the graphic video and reported it to authorities.
“We are aware of the disturbing image of a murdered woman and a video of the perpetrator circulating on social media. It is horrific that four hours have passed since the content was uploaded and it is still online. What is more disturbing is that the post by Sbusiso Lawrence has already been shared thousands of times.
“Please do not share this post. Do not send it to us. We have reported the matter to the authorities and are urging for it to be addressed urgently. If you come across the post, report it immediately.”
Neither family has finalised funeral arrangements.
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