Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu, [email protected]
BULAWAYO Mayor Councillor David Coltart has described the deaths of Zandile Nothabo Khumalo and her two daughters, Natalie and Nala, as a tragedy beyond human comprehension, saying no words could adequately explain the pain of losing a child and grandchildren.
Speaking during the funeral service at Brethren in Christ Church in New Lobengula yesterday, Clr Coltart said the grief being endured by the Khumalo family had touched not only Bulawayo but the nation.
“When we come to moments like this of unspeakable grief, the thought of burying a child is bad enough, but the thought of burying grandchildren is beyond my comprehension,” he said.
“I’m sure that we all feel that today.”
Clr Coltart said tragedies of such magnitude often leave people searching for answers that cannot easily be found.
“I’m a man of faith like you, and it is at moments like this that all of us reach out to God and ask, ‘Why?’ I don’t think any of the bishops or any of the teachers of our faith can have an answer.”
He said while preparing for the funeral, he reflected on the book of Romans, which speaks of God’s eternal power and divine nature being revealed through creation.
Quoting from Romans 1:20, Clr Coltart said humanity’s limited understanding made it impossible to fully comprehend God’s plans, especially in the face of devastating loss.
“When we look at God’s creation and think of the stars, we ask ourselves what is beyond them. Is there a boundary, and if there is, what lies beyond that boundary?
“When we look at God’s creation, our minds are too small to comprehend the enormity of God. It is that understanding that we must try to apply to tragedies like this.”
Nothabo, 42, and her daughters, Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were laid to rest at Old Luveve Cemetery following the church service.
Their deaths in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, in the United Kingdom last month shocked Zimbabweans at home and abroad.
Nothabo’s husband and the children’s father, Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, remains in custody in South Africa as the United Kingdom seeks his extradition to face three counts of murder.
