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Siphiwe Ndlovu who is admitted at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo shows the stitches she had after the stabbing

Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
A MUM of five has told how she held her intestines in her hands after being stabbed SEVEN times by her estranged husband.
Siphiwe Ndlovu, 48, is recovering at Bulawayo’s Mpilo Hospital.She claims after her crazed husband, Vusumuzi Thusi, 49, sliced her tummy open with two knives last Friday night.

Police have launched a manhunt for Thusi, a security guard, after he fled his Robert Sinyoka Village home in Old Pumula and stopped reporting for work.

Ndlovu told Chronicle from her hospital bed that Thusi – who wanted her to move back in with him after she fled their matrimonial home over alleged abuse – followed her to her sister’s house in the same suburb.

She said: “On Thursday he came to my vending stall and insisted that I move back to our house but I refused. He slapped me once and I screamed. He disappeared after people came running to see what was happening.

“I decided not to sell my wares on Friday fearing that he would come back. But he confronted me after I went out of the house to see a neighbour.

“It was about 9.20PM, and already dark outside, and I saw him running towards me. He produced two knives and ripped my stomach open. I fell to the ground and he started stabbing me all over the body. He tried stabbing me in the face but I covered it with my right hand and his knife cut through my wrist. He stopped when he realised I was not moving. I used the chance to get up and stagger away with my intestines in my hands. He ran off in another direction and I could hear the sound of the clanking knives.”

Ndlovu became weaker as she struggled to get to her sister’s house, with her intestines out and blood gushing from her wounds.
A motorist passing by noticed her and drove her to Mpilo Hospital.

“I’ve never felt such pain,” Ndlovu said from her bed, showing scars on her tummy which was stitched back together by nurses. “I’m still scared because I understand my husband has not been arrested. I hope the police do something because I need protection from him. He might follow me here because he wants me dead.”

Ndlovu and Thusi have five children together, but she says he has always abused her.

“My husband has always been abusive. In 2011, he wrote me a letter telling me that he no longer loved me. He called me an uneducated old woman who has stopped him from progressing in life,” said Ndlovu, who is a vendor.

“I held on to my marriage but at the end of January this year I decided to move to my sister’s house in Old Pumula as I could no longer bear the beatings and abuse.”

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo appealed for the public’s help in apprehending Thusi, who is wanted for attempted murder.

“Anyone with information that can lead to his arrest can contact their nearest police station, inform the police through a suggestion box or call the Bulawayo police hotline numbers (09) 885479 and 995 or toll free 110 if they are using a NetOne line,” Inspector Moyo said.

He said Thusi should be treated as dangerous and should not be approached.

Police are also advising couples in abusive relationships to seek counselling and police protection in extreme cases to avoid being killed.