'We just want to bury them in peace' — Ndibi family mourn slain siblings

It has been over two months since Elam‚ 9‚ and Muzi‚ 8‚ Ndibi were kidnapped outside their Tshepisong‚ Kagiso‚ home and later brutally killed. And now‚ they will finally be put to rest.

“The manner in which they were killed was bad enough. The police were just taking too long to conduct these tests‚ but we are relived now that they are released. We just want to bury them in peace‚ so we can move on‚” said their uncle‚ Luvuyo Ndibi.

“We owe them that much‚” added Ndibi.

The siblings went missing on September 14 while playing outside their home.

A missing persons’ case was opened hours after people realised that they were missing. Hours‚ days and weeks passed with their whereabouts unknown‚ until they were found dead at Slovoville.

The siblings were buried in shallow graves‚ with their hands tied and their faces blindfolded‚ about 10km away from their home.

Ndibi‚ who went to identify the children alongside their mother‚ Andiswa‚ said the bodies were badly decomposed.

“It was really bad. Their heads were tied together ...

“We honestly couldn’t identify them‚ if it wasn’t for the clothes they were wearing‚ we weren’t going to be able identify them‚” he told SowetanLIVE.

Ndibi said the family had not as yet confirmed the exact day on which the siblings would be buried.

“We might bury them this coming weekend; there really is no need to wait. It’s about time‚” he said.

The man accused of killing the Soweto siblings appeared at the Kagiso Magistrate’s Court last Monday‚ on double charges of murder and kidnapping of minors.

Scores of people came to court to call for the suspect not to be granted bail‚ including Gauteng MEC of community safety‚ Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane‚ who said the suspect could face more charges.

Nkosi-Malobane expressed shock that the children had not been buried and that it had taken so long for their bodies to be released.