A year after losing her partner in a double murder that shattered their family, Nompilo Gumbi is once again confronting the painful circumstances of his death as the man accused of killing him and another Chatsworth resident stands trial.
The Durban Regional Court has begun hearing evidence in the double murder trial of Wasim Kudoos, with state witnesses recounting events surrounding the fatal shootings of Mzikayise Paulos Mabida, 54, and Mahmudel Sajid, 38, on 8 October 2025.
Among those who have testified is Penelope Singh, a neighbour of Kudoos, who told the court about his apparent state shortly after the alleged shootings and said he had spoken badly about his own mother.
Singh testified that she had never seen Kudoos so agitated before and that he told her he had shot someone shortly after the shootings.
For Gumbi, Mabida’s partner and the mother of his children, hearing the testimony has brought the family’s grief painfully back to the surface.
“From what I heard, he does not sound as if he was of sound mind on that day. The fact that the witness said he told her that he had shot someone is reopening that wound for us,” she said.
Speaking to Merebank and Chatsworth Tabloid, Gumbi said the family continued to grieve a year after Mabida’s death. Raising their children without him had not been easy, but she remained grateful for the support she had received from her own family and his relatives.
The family has also observed cultural customs following Mabida’s death, including a cleansing ceremony for Gumbi that allowed her to resume certain activities, including moving around freely and attending church.
Although work and the responsibility of supporting her children prevent her from attending every court appearance, Gumbi confirmed that she would also testify as a state witness.
For the family, the trial is unfolding alongside the reality of rebuilding their lives without a man whose absence continues to be felt at home.
The State alleges that on 8 October 2025, Kudoos shot and killed Sajid at his barber salon on Summerfield Road in Bayview. About an hour later, he allegedly returned to his home in Fiona Street, Mobeni Heights, where he shot and killed Mabida in the driveway.
Both men died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Mabida worked as a gardener for Kudoos, while Sajid, 38, worked as a barber. Their deaths left two families to grapple with the consequences of the violence, while the criminal proceedings now seek to establish what happened.
Kudoos was arrested by Bayview police on the day of the shootings and has remained in custody after being denied bail by the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court.
During the bail proceedings, the court cited the seriousness of the charges and the strength of the State’s case, which included ballistic reports, video analysis and witness statements. The magistrate also rejected Kudoos’s claim that exceptional circumstances justified his release.
Kudoos previously claimed that he could not remember crucial details surrounding the incident. However, following an assessment by a district surgeon, he was declared mentally fit to stand trial.
He faces two counts of murder and intends to plead not guilty, according to information presented during earlier proceedings.
The trial is expected to continue throughout October, bringing further testimony in the same month that the two men were killed a year ago.
As witnesses take the stand, their evidence is expected to shed further light on the events surrounding the deaths of Sajid and Mabida.
For Gumbi and her children, however, the proceedings are about more than the details emerging in court. They are also a reminder of the life they have had to rebuild since Mabida’s death, as they continue to navigate their loss while preparing for her own turn to testify.
A year later, the grief remains, and the search for answers continues in court.
