Amelia Hope and Elena Faith.
Image: Monishka Govender
In an exclusive interview with the POST this week, Tongaat mother Nicole Govender shared her devastating journey of grief after the tragic death of her daughters – Amelia Hope (6), who was autistic, and Elena Faith (4). The girls were fed their favourite McDonald's meal allegedly laced with poison, by their father Leon Munsamy before he hanged himself. He had left a suicide note.
DAYS before the tragedy, Nicole said her ex-husband Leon had found out she was in a relationship and began sending her messages on her cellphone, “gaslighting and mocking” her.
Nicole, 37, an IT and software specialist, said on February 20, Leon's brother unexpectedly arrived at her house and said he wanted to speak to her about “things” he had been hearing about her.
Nicole said she had separated from Leon in April last year and they divorced in August.
She alleged the breakdown in their eight-year marriage was due to “narcissistic behaviour and abuse”.
“I had never discussed what I went through in my marriage with his family. On that Friday, I opened up to Leon’s brother. At the time, I was unaware that Leon was in the car. He suddenly jumped off and told his brother not to speak to me,” Nicole claimed.
She said Leon then confronted her new boyfriend and there was a physical altercation.
“On Saturday morning (February 21), Leon went to my mother’s house, also in Belvedere. At first he was apologetic for his behaviour the day before and then he started arguing with my mother. He told her, ‘I am coming for her’,” claimed Nicole.
She said by Sunday (February 22), his tone had shifted.
“I will never forget his voice when he called me. Now I understand that he already had his plan. He called to make arrangements to see the girls on Monday. I asked why he could not fetch them after church, and he said he had things to do.
“Leon said he would take them after school on Monday (February 23), around 3pm. He said he would get them ready for school on Tuesday morning and asked me to prepare their lunches in advance. I refused and said I would send fresh food in the morning,” said Nicole.
She said since the divorce, it was the first time Leon had insisted on taking the girls during the week.
“When he fetched the girls on Monday afternoon, he asked the helper to give him their lunch boxes and bags because he would make the lunch in the morning.”
She said the arrangement was that Leon would take them to school on Tuesday morning (February 24), and their scholar transport would fetch them after school and take them to her home.
Nicole said when Elena's transport drove past their house, her helper called and informed her.
“I immediately panicked and thought Leon was trying to stress me out by not telling me that there had been a change in plan. I never thought that he would harm them,” said Nicole.
She said she tried to call Leon, but he did not answer.
“I then called his brother but he said he had not heard from Leon. I rushed home and was going to open a case with the police when Leon’s brother called me. He said I should go straight to Leon’s house. At that moment I sensed something in his voice,” said Nicole.
She said at the scene she was met by the children’s helper who was crying on the road, and the house had been cordoned off.
“I asked, ‘Where are my girls?' A paramedic I had gone to school with approached me. He held me and he did not need to say much. I knew they were gone,” Nicole said.
The girls were found dead in their beds and Leon had hanged himself.
She said Leon had left a suicide note, but to date she had not seen it.
“The police are withholding the letter from me. Up until now I do not know what transpired on that fateful day. I need to know so that I can try to get some closure,” said Nicole.
“I do not even know how he poisoned them. But I know he bought them food from McDonald's when he fetched them from me. The packets were still on the table. The thought that he put poison into something they liked, kills me.
“I have so many questions. Did he sit and watch them suffer and die? As far as I am concerned, this was premeditated murder. My children suffered in the last few hours that they were alive.
“They would have been scared and in more pain than their bodies could handle. They would have been crying for me and I did not even know.”
The distraught mother said seeing her daughters bodies indicated they had suffered. She said their skin was discoloured, and it would be a sight that would haunt her forever.
“They did not even look like my babies. Those bodies were not the children I kissed goodbye on Monday morning. When I close my eyes, I just see their tiny bodies on the metal table.”
Nicole claimed there was pressure from Leon’s family to hold a joint funeral.
“I could not sit in the same place as the person who murdered my children. Just because he was their father by name, it did not mean I owed him anything. Besides, I have been providing for them on my own since they were born, and felt I should do so for their final farewell,” she said.
She said she planned every detail of her daughters’ final farewell.
“My sister and I bathed and dressed the girls two hours before the funeral. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Leon took them when they were well and full of life, and I got them back in the mortuary,” she said.
Amelia Hope and Elena Faith.
Image: Monishka Govender
Nicole said she had been criticised on social media and at the funeral for appearing “strong and not crying publicly”.
“People on social media have painted me as a cold woman that could not even cry for her kids. Which mother would ever be okay with her children dying?
“I did not know what to say at the time and I still do not know. For the rest of my life I will live with this memory of my children being taken away from me.
“My pain, anger and numbness has kept me upright so far. The reality is that I think of both girls like they are still alive and with me. I hear their voices and anticipate their arrival home. I have an urn with their ashes at home. Sometimes I move it to a higher place thinking the girls could drop it. It takes me some time to realise that they are never coming back."
Nicole said she had lost her father to suicide.
“My dad hanged himself, and Leon knew how much trauma this had caused me. I believe he just wanted to push me over the edge. That is why he did this. He knew my children were my reason for living,” said Nicole.
She said her first-born Amelia had autism, and only began speaking at 4 years old.
“I waited for years to hear her say ‘Mummy’. I prayed for it. She was my baby who threw many tantrums, who hung on to me, who had me speak for her. I was her protector and she was taken from me. When Amelia started school at Silverdale, she changed. She adapted well to school and loved it there. She was quiet, but very loving.”
She said Elena began speaking at 3-and-a-half years old, and was feisty, funny, fearless.
“Elena was a chatterbox, funny and playful. I can still hear her voice telling me stories or her cartoons playing in the background. The girls were inseparable. They fought, but they were each other’s world and loved matching outfits. My girls barely got to live their life or experience the world before they were taken away in such a cruel manner.”
Nicole said she was receiving support from her employer and family.
Trauma counselling lies ahead, but for now, she survives moment to moment.
“No matter what people say, I will always blame myself. They were loved and safe with me. They were my priority, and my family’s pride and joy. I do not think my brain will ever accept that they are gone. The only thing that gives me solace is knowing they are now safe with God, no suffering, just in His arms,” said Nicole.
Leon's family declined to comment.