Was Hope’s son acting alone?

FAMILY BELIEVE OTHER PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN EX-JOURNALIST’S MURDER

LOOKING back at the strong bond Hope Zinde had with her son Warona, now facing a murder charge for her death, the Zinde family suspect someone else was also involved in her killing.

Zinde, 49, a former TV and radio personality, was found dead, reportedly in the boot of her car, at the weekend.

Police arrested Warona and charged him with murder and possession of an illegal substance.

Zinde’s uncle Jackson Letshufi told reporters at her memorial service in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, that the family does not believe Warona acted alone.

Inspiring doubt was the loving mother-and-son relationship Hope and Warona shared.

“She brought up this boy. She loved this boy,” said Letshufi.

“When a thing of this nature happens you [ask] why would a young boy do [such] a thing. This is why … sometimes we don’t think he was alone in this type of thing.

“We think there might have been some people who urged or helped him do a thing of this nature.

“Especially [since] we know of the bond between the mother and the child, we’ll always be suspicious. We’re not saying it has happened … it is something for the court to decide as to what really happened,” Letshufi said.

“As a family, we have lost. Hope was almost everything in the family. It’s hard to accept [she is no more], but we say ‘Hope, you have been a pillar of this family’.”

Speaking at the memorial service at the Mamelodi west branch of the Methodist Church, Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi also raised the issue of whether Warona acted alone. “I don’t understand how that small boy can carry the body of his mother alone,” he said.

The Zinde family has corrected Warona’s age, saying he is 23 years old and not 28 as North West police said over the weekend.

Warona is a student at Varsity College in Pretoria, studying for a BCom degree, the family said.

His mother’s friends attested to the close relationship between the two. “Hope lived for that boy. She literally lived for that boy,” Nomsa Nkuna, Hope’s childhood friend, told the memorial service.

Letshufi said the family was supporting Warona. “We brought in a lawyer to ensure, whatever he says, there is legal support by his side.”

Warona is appearing at the Brits Regional Court in North West today. His mother will be buried next Tuesday.

PHOTOS: PETER MOGAKI DISBELIEF: Family member Sannah Mokhele speaking at the memorial service for the late Hope Zinde. The mother was allegedly murdered by her son, despite family members saying their bond was very strong

PAINFUL DUTY: Public Service Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi with Hope Zinde’s mother Audry Zinde during the memorial service for her daughter at the Methodist Church in Mamelodi, Pretoria