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Joke about a glass of wine costs mother her life

Six-year-old Siyamthanda Dyoni and her baby brother were robbed of their mother’s care after Nondi Dyani, 36, was stabbed to death when she asked a group of women for a glass of wine in Khayelitsha on Friday.

Siyamthanda tried to protect her mother but had to run for her life when the assailant tried to stab her as well.

Dyani was walking with Siyamthanda when she jokingly asked the group of strangers drinking wine to pour her some.

Family member Noludwe Patala said Dyani didn’t drink alcohol and must have just been teasing.

“The suspect was in the group. Dyani continued walking home, unaware she was being followed,” Patala said.

“The suspect allegedly ran into her uncle’s shack, grabbed a knife, and followed Nondi.”

Patala said Dyani was stabbed repeatedly in the neck.

“The child tried to stop her, but she kept stabbing until Nondi collapsed,” Patala said.

“The suspect then chased Siyamthanda, threatening to stab her as well.”

Siyamthanda survived but must now live with the trauma of not only losing her mother right in front of her but almost losing her life, too.

Patala said the family doesn’t believe it was just because of the joke and that there must be another reason.

“She killed her like an animal,” Patala said.

Dyani had suffered a stroke last year while giving birth to her second child, a boy, which left her too weak to defend herself.

“She was planning to leave Cape Town in December. The only reason she stayed was for her child’s hospital appointments,” Patala explained.

Western Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said officers responded to a complaint on Friday, 11 October.

“They found the body of a 36-year-old woman who had been stabbed. The suspect fled and has not yet been arrested,” he said.

Swartbooi said there appeared to have been an argument and that the police were investigating.

Pictured above: Nondi Dyani from the Makhaza informal settlement in Khayelitsha was stabbed to death by another woman after she jokingly asked the suspect and her friends for alcohol.

Source: Supplied