Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
“I HAD a strong feeling that my daughter’s relationship was going to end tragically,” said Mrs Mavis Ncube in a faint and emotionally subdued voice as she chronicled how her daughter, Hillary Nothabo Ncube (26) was in love with a possessive man who eventually took her life.
Hillary was struck to death with an iron bar by her lover, Obvious Velani Sibanda, ironically at the beginning of the love month of February. On the fateful day, the duo who worked together and had already set the date for the lobola day went to Sibanda’s place of residence in Emakhandeni, Bulawayo after Obvious had indicated he had a “surprise” for Hillary.
On arrival, the two started arguing over reports of infidelity and that is when the now deceased was allegedly struck with an iron bar several times on the head.
“There was no surprise waiting for her at the house, there was no present or ring or anything that suggested that Obvious had a surprise for her. They left work at about 3pm and at 5pm she was dead. The guy had the time to take a bath, change his clothes, and start pacing the yard at their home. Neighbours saw him but never suspected anything. He even had time to delete her WhatsApp account and deactivate her Facebook account. He then informed his parents of what he had done,” said Mrs Ncube, contrary to reports that Obvious handed himself to the police soon after committing the heinous act.
On a work social group, Obvious is said to have sent a message saying he was sorry, and the team enquired what he was apologising for and he inboxed one colleague saying he had killed Hillary. He went on to tell their immediate boss that Hillary was not going to come to work the following day.
“We had set 10 February for the marriage negotiations to allow our father to travel to Zimbabwe from South Africa. She was excited for the day, she sent me messages when I was in South Africa where I stay, she wanted a dress for the day, their relationship from outside looked okay, and they were fine. Possibly there were things that she was hiding from us. If she had said something about the guy being abusive, I was not going to think twice. I was going to advise her to end the relationship,” said Simisokuhle, Hillary’s elder sister.
When Hillary fell pregnant, the mother said she was not necessarily worried since she knew the father of the unborn baby.
“I told her there was no problem with falling pregnant, that was the state of affairs and we could not change it. I then met the boy formally and all was well. Looking at him, there seemed to be no issues. If he doubted paternity as has been reported, he should have said and let her go, we were going to take care of the child ourselves,” said Mrs Ncube.
Reflecting on the events preceding the murder, the family now suspects that the proposed lobola was not genuine, and that the man had premeditated her killing.
“Umfana lo wayem’tshaya kodwa ngapha wayengakhulumi (He would beat her up but she never told us). She confided in a friend. He once beat her up and kicked her on her sides, on the rib cage. On that day she came back home and we were watching TV where someone was being abused physically. I randomly said, if someone was to beat up my child like that, I would approach them and ask them to kill me rather than beat up my child. She stood up and left the living room,” said Mrs Ncube.
Hillary had asked her younger sister on that day to boil some water as she wanted to do a hot compress as she had indicated her sides were sore. She never mentioned that she had been beaten up by her boyfriend. The matter came to light after her sibling overheard a conversation the deceased had with her friend asking how she must use the hot water to compress the area she had been injured.
“He was very obsessive, he beat her up because she had answered a call on her phone, and he never wanted her to talk to other people. It was not normal, the way he was possessive. This is why he ended up killing her, some time ago I told her sister Simisokuhle that I did not like the relationship, ngathi ekucineni cineni bazabulalana.
“Whenever she was going to work he would leave his home and wait for her very early, neighbours always used to see him. When they had a late shift, he would come and leave her here at around 3am and go to his home. They were using public transport, so how did he get back to his house at that hour? I mentioned that they were too obsessive,” she said.
Simisokuhle, said her younger sister was an intelligent girl who had big dreams.
“She was at Usher Girls High School from Form One to Six and she was very intelligent. At A-Level she studied Mathematics, Physics, and Biology before enrolling at the National University of Science and Technology for a degree in Operations Management and Statistics. She graduated around 2020 when Covid-19 was at its peak and in 2022 she got a job at a local food outlet as a cashier where she had been working,” said Simisokuhle.
While she was there, she never stopped aiming high and would apply for jobs elsewhere, with the most recent one being at the National Railways of Zimbabwe and another at the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT).
“She also wanted to venture into her career as well, so she never stopped sending her CV’s around,” she said.
The family did not take kindly to the allegations of infidelity saying Hilary was ready for the next chapter of her life which was supposed to come just five days later.
“They said she failed to answer her phone when asked by Obvious, saying the father of the baby she was carrying was calling. Who on earth would say that to someone that you are dating and is about to pay lobola for you in five days? No woman would say that, we find that a bit odd. The Gift character too that is mentioned and is said to have impregnated her, we do not know about him here. Even among ex-partners, no one was called Gift. Now her phone is blocked and there is nothing on her WhatsApp or Facebook account, everything was deleted,” said Simisokuhle.
They said if indeed a man called Gift existed, the WhatsApp and Facebook accounts could have some clues but there is none.
A missing jersey
“They refused to hand over my daughter’s jersey she was wearing on the fateful day. It was left on the sofa at Obvious’ home. We are tired of even asking for it. They keep giving us excuses when we ask for it, on Wednesday I asked his mother why they were holding on to it and she said she would call me when she got home but she never did. I am trying to figure them out and their actions, maybe they were out to kill my child.”
On the day of the death, Mrs Ncube said she called her daughter around 3.15pm instructing her to quickly come home after her shift so that she could do some laundry as she was unwell. However, after noticing the delay in returning home, she said she felt that something was amiss and they called again only to be answered by the police.
Family contact
The Sibanda family made contact with the Ncube’s on a Friday (9 February) evening for the first time with a US$700 token which they said was to assist with the funeral, but they were turned down. The Ncube family said they had prepared for the funeral already and did not need the funds.
“Now we want nothing to do with them, we do not know if our father does but we are done. There is nothing that they will say that will bring Hillary back to life, even if they want ukuhlawula (pay damages), there is no need. What are we going to do with that money,” questioned Simisokuhle.
The Ncube family said it was unfortunate that their daughter was now being labeled a pregnant, cheating girlfriend who deserved to die the way she did yet she is an unfortunate victim of Gender Based Violence.
They said while they could not stomach seeing her injured body, some relatives who were at the crime scene said she had a severely deformed skull and her teeth fell out due to the excessive force used.
“The room was filled with blood, on the bed, on the wardrobe, on the curtains everywhere,” said Simisokuhle.
The murder suspect is in police custody waiting his initial court appearance this week.-@NyembeziMu
Online Reporter