Village children traumatised by brutal killing of four

Children in an Eastern Cape village are afraid to fall asleep at night after the brutal bludgeoning to death of four little ones with a hammer, allegedly by their mother.

This was revealed during a memorial service for the children held at Gulandoda Primary School, at Tsalaba Village, in Ngcobo, on Tuesday.

The event was attended by family, community members and local leaders.

Nomboleko Noludwe Simayile, 32, allegedly confessed to attacking her children with a sledgehammer while they were asleep, killing Lizalise, 11, Inga, 9, Othalive, 5, and Elihle, 2.

The mother was arrested hours after she allegedly alerted her father, Mthundezi Simayile to the calamity.

Simayile is to appear in the Ngcobo magistrate’s court for a formal bail application. The state is opposing bail. A 13-year-old girl, a relative of the slain children, said: “I can’t believe their own mother could kill them.

“I first thought they were assaulted and killed by intruders. My heart is bleeding.

“This makes me scared of my own mother. I think I am safer with my grandparents.

“It is hard to sleep at night.” A number of pupils who spoke at the memorial service raised the same concerns.

Children’s rights activist Petros Majola of Khulanathi Community Projects called for bail to be denied to the mother.

Dr AB Xuma mayor Siyabulela Zangqa and Gulandoda Primary School principal Patrick Langa said the incident had left them devastated.

“We lost two pupils in just one day. This is shocking.

“I know both [elder] children personally. I taught them — they were brilliant and wanted to be doctors. I had no doubt they could have achieved that, but their lives were cut short.” Langa said three pupils from the school had died in a year.

“The first was a grade R pupil who drowned in the river.”

A funeral will be held on Friday and premier Oscar Mabuyane, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and deputy minister Zizi Kodwa are expected to be among the mourners.