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Man accused of triple murder admits gun charges

Mayeni Jones,Africa correspondent, Johannesburgand
Danny Fullbrook,Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
News imageBedfordshire Police A smiling family sitting together in the back seat of a car. To the left is the mum, wearing a blue polka dot jacket. In the middle is a young girl in a green and yellow school uniform. On the right is an older girl in a white shirt and grey blazer.Bedfordshire Police
Nothabo Zandile Tshuma and daughters Nala, five, and Natalie, 15, were found dead at their home in Bedfordshire

A man accused of killing his wife and two daughters in the UK has admitted unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition in South Africa.

Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found with fatal head injuries in Great Denham, near Bedford, on 7 July.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, was arrested in Johannesburg after leaving the UK. Local police said he was found with a gun and ammunition he had bought in South Africa. He has appeared before magistrates in the city for a plea hearing.

The Crown Prosecution Service in England has authorised three murder charges against Tshuma and an extradition hearing is due to take place in South Africa on Thursday.

The defendant, who is also known as Mark Tshuma, is a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage.

He could face sentencing for the gun offences later.

News imageReuters Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma: The head and shoulders of a man with dark hair and a dark beard. He is wearing a dark green coat with a hood.Reuters
Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma was arrested in South Africa after leaving the UK

A relative living overseas contacted authorities in England on 6 July after not hearing from the family for several days.

Bedfordshire Police officers carried out a welfare check at an address linked to the family that day. They then visited the family home in Carnoustie Drive in the early hours of 7 July, when the bodies were found.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the force's contact with the mother and her children before their deaths.

Bedfordshire Police made a mandatory referral to the watchdog on 7 July.

The IOPC said it also received a voluntary conduct referral concerning a police constable the following day.

Statements from the coroner's officers revealed the mother died from "head injuries" while the children's cause of death was listed as "blunt force head injuries".

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