On July 1, 2024, the 18-year-old KwaMashu resident was pronounced dead at Durban’s King Edward Hospital. She has been in the hospital’s high care unit since Saturday night, June 29.
Nonka, as her friends and family referred to her, had left home with her 33-year-old boyfriend three nights earlier on Friday, June 28.
On Saturday night, the boyfriend told the family that he didn’t know where Nonkanyiso was after she supposedly jumped out of his driving car.
According to KwaZulu-Natal police spokeswoman Constable Thenjiwe Ngcobo, officers in Westville are investigating a case of culpable homicide “following an incident in which an 18-year-old girl sustained injuries from an accident that occurred at Westville on Saturday, June 29, 2024.”
“She was taken to a neighboring hospital for medical treatment. Ngcobo stated that she later died in the hospital.
As police continue to investigate Nonka’s unusual death, Mgwaba’s family is asking for the community’s help in determining the truth about their daughter’s death.
Nonkanyiso was a Grade 12 student at Nhlakanipho High School in KwaMashu and a mother of a three-year-old kid, Hlelo.
She lived in her KwaMashu Section D home with her 46-year-old mother, 97-year-old grandmother, two older siblings, and one-year-old kid.
A family representative, who did not want to be identified, told IOL that the young mother was a happy, gregarious, and loving young girl who enjoyed life.
The family said they last saw Nonkanyiso on Friday, June 28, when her 33-year-old lover picked her up and drove her to his Chesterville home.
“We knew she wouldn’t be home for long because she usually spends the weekend with her boyfriend or pals.
“They left in the afternoon in the boyfriend’s car for Chesterville.”
“The boyfriend came back later that evening, to tell us that he cannot find Nonka as she jumped out of the car as he was driving around Chesterville” , according to the family.
According to the family, the boyfriend claimed to have looked for her but was unable to find her.
Last Sunday, they filed a missing person report at the nearby police station and asked for help on Facebook.
“A guy who saw my post happened to be a nurse at King Edward Hospital, recognized Nonka from the photo, and called me at the number I provided in the post.”
“He told me that she had passed away and that I should come to identify the body,” she added, adding that they received the news on Monday afternoon. By Monday night, they had identified Nonkanyiso.
The family learned that Nonka’s damaged body was located on the side of the N3 expressway near Pavilion Mall on Saturday, June 29. She was brought to the hospital the same night.
She arrived at King Edward Hospital’s high care unit at 7 p.m. She was certified dead on July 1. They recognized her on the same night.
Nonkanyiso Mgwaba is set to be buried on Saturday, July 13.
There have been no arrests made.
