Family shocked by murder of beloved nanny

Pretoria - An Ashlea Gardens family is in shock following the murder of their domestic worker at their home on Tuesday.

Esther Ngwenya, 58, had been with the family for 18 years and raised three of their children. She was considered part of the family.

On Monday afternoon the owner of the house arrived home to find security-conscious Ngwenya dead on the floor in one of the rooms, with a blanket over her face and her hands cable-tied behind her back.

“I arrived back from gym just after noon. The main gate was closed but when I came in I noticed the front security door was open.

“I went inside and called for Esther but there was no response.

“I immediately called my husband when I noticed the TV was missing,” said the owner, who declined to be named.

While on the phone with her husband she walked upstairs, still calling for their beloved worker, and was confronted by the sight of her protruding feet.

“As I walked into the room I saw she was not moving. Still calling out her name, I saw the blanket on her face and knew I had to help her.

“When I lifted the blanket and saw the slime and vomit from her mouth and her not moving, I knew the inevitable had happened. Esther’s biggest fear had materialised,” the woman said.

Ngwenya was extremely security conscious and always feared being killed during a robbery, she said. After seeing the body, the woman ran out of the house and pressed the panic button and waited for the police and an ambulance.

“I was so calm during that time. I was on the phone with my husband the entire time and kept calm. I didn’t even consider the possibility of the robbers still being in the house. I wasn’t thinking rationally. Even after seeing the TV was gone, reality still didn’t kick in.”

The woman praised the police and security personnel for their fast response.

“I thought I was going to wait forever, but I didn’t. The police were here very fast. I immediately sent them to check on Esther. I don’t know any CPR so I didn’t attempt doing anything with Esther.

“I knew she was dead when she didn’t move but I just needed someone to make sure and check.”

It is believed that Ngwenya might have opened the gate for her murderers. “There is no indication of forced entry. It’s difficult to believe that she would have opened the door for them. They really had to swing her a good story for her to open. She would never open for strangers. It’s so difficult to believe and doesn’t make sense at all.”

The woman said the suspects got away with electronic equipment including a TV, PVR decoder, laptop and a PC, and various other items including jewellery.

“One of the boxes they took from my cupboard along with my jewellery was a box with my mother’s ashes that we were going to scatter in December. They probably thought there must be jewellery in there. They will be very shocked and hopefully spooked once they discover the contents.”

On Tuesday, family members were gathering at the house after learning of the death of the family’s beloved nanny. Ngwenya’s body will be sent to her family in KwaZulu-Natal for burial. Efforts to get police comment were unsuccessful.

Pretoria News