Is my mom dead?, teen asks before dying after attack 'by her dad'

"Is my mom dead?"

These were the last four words 14-year-old Lungelo Mnisi penned on a piece of paper from her hospital bed hours before she died on Sunday. 

Lungelo had been admitted at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela since April 22 after her father Mandla Sibiya brutally stabbed her, her four-year-old sister and their mother Fisiwe Msane-Sibiya,36, during a fit of domestic violence at their home in Mataffin Park in Mpumalanga.

Lungelo, a grade 9 pupil at Cyril Clarke High School, had spent 14 days in the hospital's intensive care unit fighting for her life as she underwent surgical operations on her throat before she died.

Her maternal uncle, Goodwill Nkosi, told Sowetan that his wife had visited his niece on Saturday before she drew her last breath. The wound in her throat had affected the audibility of her voice.  

"After her surgeries, we thought she was going to be OK. She was starting to talk though on Saturday her voice was very low. Lungelo asked if her mother had survived the attack. When her aunt could not hear well, Lungelo asked for a paper and a pen and wrote "mama ushonile na" [Is my mom dead?]," Nkosi said.

He said Lungelo's aunt could not answer her right away, fearing the response might affect her recovery.

Nkosi said Lungelo had undergone several surgeries after she was stabbed 14 times including in the throat during the attack, allegedly by her father.  Her last surgery was last week and the family thought her health would improve. 

My niece was strong because she lived after all that stabbing," Nkosi said. 

Lungelo had also given a written statement to the police soon after she was admitted, the family said.

Police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli did not want to be drawn into discussion of Lungelo's statement, saying he did not want to arm Sibiya's defence with information before the start of his trial.

He said Sibiya was now facing two charges of murder and one of attempted murder. 

"We can confirm that Lungelo Mnisi who has been in hospital since the incident has since passed away. In that development the police have added another murder charge against the suspect, Sibiya, which means now he is facing two murder charges and one attempted murder," said Mdhluli. 

Sibiya had been on the run for about a week before he handed himself in to the police last week. He was being sought in connection with the stabbing of his wife and two children. 

A neighbour told Sowetan at the time that he had received a call from a frantic Lungelo on the morning of the stabbing. Neighbours found the children sitting next to the body of their mother. 

"I received a call from the child who told me that their father had stabbed them. I rushed there as I called other neighbours. When we arrived at the house, we found that the burglar door was locked," said Sindi Mathebula.

"We had to break it to gain entry. When we entered, we found the children lying next to their mother and all of them were bleeding profusely. Their mother lay dead in a pool of blood as her eldest daughter tried to wake her up. She was not moving," said Mathebula. 

Police said there was a possibility of adding more charges against Sibiya. 

Nkosi said the family was dealt a double blow as they have to mourn again in less than two weeks after the burial of the children's mother on April 26.  

"We have just buried her mother and now Lungelo has died too. As we speak, I'm getting calls from people we borrowed money from for the previous funeral, now we are met with another burial for my niece. It's hard," Nkosi said. 

Sibiya's next court appearance is on Wednesday.