Man wanted over triple murder in Britain pleads guilty to weapons offences in South Africa

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, a British and Zimbabwean national wanted in the United Kingdom over the deaths of his wife and two daughters, pleaded guilty in South Africa to possessing a firearm and ammunition without a licence and violating immigration law.

The 45-year-old appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court, which reviewed a plea agreement reached by the defence and prosecution. Tshuma faces three murder charges in Britain over the deaths of his wife, Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and their daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5. Their bodies were found in July in Bedford, in the English county of Bedfordshire.

Tshuma left the United Kingdom through London’s Heathrow Airport, travelling via Dubai, before British authorities discovered the bodies. Investigators say that after arriving in South Africa on July 5, he went to Alexandra, a Johannesburg township, to buy a 9mm pistol on the black market.

Police and Interpol later arrested him in Johannesburg’s Kensington area in a joint operation that received direct assistance from relatives of the suspect living in South Africa. His guilty plea on the South African charges clears the way for extradition proceedings to Britain. The National Prosecuting Authority says it has prepared the necessary documents for a further hearing on Thursday.