Tania Broughton
tania.broughton@inl.co.za
THE STATE is facing a hefty bill to help support three children whose mother was shot dead by their father in front of the policemen she had called to protect her.
Durban High Court Judge Esther Steyn ruled this week that the State was liable to pay damages to the children, who are all over the age of 18, because the police officers called to the scene of “domestic violence” were negligent.
“The case focused once more on domestic violence and the impact it has on the family. She was killed at a time when she sought protection from the police,” the judge said.
The case was brought by a curator acting on behalf of the boy, now 22, and his two sisters, 20 and 18.
They were 15, 13 and 11 in 2004 when the incident happened.
The court had heard that their mother, Ntombifikile Ngidi, was scared of their father, Vusi.
According to the evidence of Dorris Ngidi, Vusi’s sister, Ntombifikile had arrived at her (Ngidi’s) home on the evening of February 11, 2004, “scantily dressed in her nightdress”.
She said Ntombifikile and Vusi had had a row and her sister-in-law feared he might shoot her.
While at her home, Ntombifikile had phoned the police. When they arrived, she told them she had run away from home and she asked the police to accompany her to her house to get her car and belongings.
She told the police that Vusi had a gun and she was scared of him – a fact confirmed by Dorris.
The next witness was the son, who confirmed his mother had “run away” from the family’s New Germany home that night. He had been woken later by his father, who said: “Come and see. Your mother is at the house to get me arrested.”
The entire family then went to the front gate, which his father opened for his mother and the police.
He said the police had asked his father if he had a gun.
His father denied possessing a firearm and the officers did not search him.
The policemen sat in the lounge while his mother went in to the bedroom.
Then he heard gunshots.
His sister testified that as her mother was pulling a suitcase from a cupboard, her father came in, pulled out his firearm from under his belt and fired shots without saying a word.
When she ran out, she noticed the police officers were no longer inside the house but at the gate.
The State did not call any witnesses.
The judge said there had been clear warning signs that the ex-husband posed a threat to Ntombifikile’s safety.
“She was fearful and she informed them he had gun.
“The fear was so real that she required police protection to go to her own house to fetch her belongings.
“It is reasonable to expect that they would have done more than just put one question to him. Reasonable policemen would have guarded the husband, not let him out of sight, or searched him.”
The children’s lawyer, Clinton Smith, told The Mercury that he was compiling an actuarial report which he hoped to place before the judge early in the new year.
He said the father had died in custody before standing trial, and the children were raised by an aunt.
