Zimbabwe mourns mother and 2 daughters killed in the UK as father faces charges

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Speakers said their hearts were broken and described “unspeakable grief” as relatives, friends and community members gathered Tuesday for the funeral of a Zimbabwean-born mother and her two daughters who were found dead at their British home.

Their husband and father, a British citizen, was arrested in South Africa after fleeing the U.K. and faces murder charges.

British police said they discovered the bodies of 42-year-old Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 15-year-old Natalie and 5-year-old Nala at their home near Bedford, north of London, on July 7 after relatives reported they could not reach the family.

An inquest found that all three died from head injuries.

On Tuesday, the bodies lay in white coffins at a church in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, before their burial.

“Their departure has created a silence so deep that only the voice of God can comfort it,” family spokesperson Theophilus Khumalo told mourners, describing the girls as “God’s little flowers.” He said their mother had dreamed of seeing them grow into “confident, educated and God-loving young women.”

In an earlier statement, the family described the killings as “an unbearably painful journey."

The deaths attracted attention in the U.K., Zimbabwe and neighboring South Africa.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, of Zimbabwean origin, was arrested in Johannesburg last month following a joint operation involving Interpol and South African police. He faces charges in South Africa of unlawful possession of a firearm after police said he was found with an unlicensed gun that they believe he intended to use to kill himself.

South African courts will consider a request to extradite him to the U.K.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa