“I’m sorry for not listening” 21-yr-old woman apologizes to mother before she died

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After allegedly being set on fire by her partner Mpumelelo Hill in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, last week, Nompumelelo Gamede said these last words to her mother, Shirley Mlanjeni, before going into a coma in the intensive care unit. “Mama, I’m sorry for not listening when you warned me about this boy. Please look after my daughter.”

Nompumelelo, 21, and another woman—the suspect’s sister—were doused with gasoline and set ablaze, according to Mpumalanga police.

According to reports, the suspect’s sister attempted to step in and ended up becoming a target herself.

Doctors told Nompumelelo’s family that her kidneys had failed and that her health had gotten worse the day before she passed away. She was no longer responding to her meds, they added.

“When she arrived at the hospital, she told me she couldn’t feel her body anymore,” said Mlanjeni.

“She said, ‘Mama, I’m sorry for not listening when you warned me about this boy. Please look after my daughter.’ I told her, ‘You can’t do this to me,’ and those were her last words before she was taken into ICU.

The family received the heartbreaking news that Nompumelelo had passed away from her wounds on Sunday, precisely ten days after the event.

Doctors informed the family during a visit on Saturday that Nompumelelo had suffered significant burns to over 60% of his body. They also found out that the second victim had passed away from her wounds the same day.

“We thought she was making progress,” Mlanjeni recalled. “But the doctor told us her kidneys were shutting down. After hearing that the other girl had passed, we were terrified. Now our family is shattered.”

The suspect and Nompumelelo have been dating for almost three years. The suspect’s parents were caring for their shared daughter.

The family claims that a few years ago, following the death of their grandma, the suspect and his sister moved in next door. He met Nompumelelo at that point.

Nompumelelo’s aunt and other neighbors noticed smoke coming from the house on the morning of the fire. They allegedly hurried over and discovered Hill sitting quietly in the dining room, saying he had no idea where the burglar door keys were.

“I wasn’t paying much attention to their relationship until last year when I found out he was abusing her. Her aunt would often hear things being broken in the house during their fights,” said another family member.

“Just a week before the fire, they had another big argument. He was so angry he smashed the kitchen windows with his bare fists. Then, as always, he’d try to make amends after the fight, replacing whatever he broke and acting remorseful.

“He used to ask his mother to take him to a traditional healer to ‘find out what was wrong with him,’ but once he got money, he never followed through. It became a cycle of violence and empty promises.”

According to Mlanjeni, the community attempted to extinguish the fire after it started at 6:30 in the morning, but they were unsuccessful since they lacked water and tried dousing it with earth.

“When I arrived, I peered through the burglar gate. My daughter’s boyfriend was sitting calmly on the sofa while the fire raged. His sister and Nompumelelo were screaming for help from the bedroom. He just sat there, drinking alcohol. When people begged him to unlock the gate, he claimed he didn’t have the keys,” Mlanjeni recalled.

The bedroom door was locked, but her aunt and some locals were able to use a spade to knock down the burglar bars.

“We broke that down too and dragged the girls out. They were immediately rushed to the clinic.”

When she was able to talk for a moment, Hill’s sister verified that her brother had locked them in the bedroom after pouring gasoline inside.

Hill is scheduled to make his second appearance at the Emalahleni magistrate’s court on Thursday to submit his bail application.

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