'HE CONFESSED TO ME'

THE wife of the man accused of murdering his two sisters, Ederees Smith, says he came home and confessed to what he had done. 

She added that he then asked her if he should “hand himself over or kill himself”.  

Wife Wadee-ah said she and Ederees had said their goodbyes to their boys after a court ruling that the couple’s sons would remain in the custody of one of the sisters who was killed, Zainab Jacobs, and her husband until January, pending further investigation into abuse allegations.

Wadee-ah recalled in an interview with the Weekend Argus: “I couldn’t understand, because before that the social worker came to our house, declared us fit to have custody, and noted that the children grew up in a safe environment. So what is happening now?”

She added: “We couldn’t sleep. Ederees would walk around at night crying. I still can’t sleep, I can’t eat. 

“Our baby daughter keeps asking where her brothers are. I don't know what to say, our eldest daughter, as strong as she is, I can see she is broken too.”

She then added that on the day of the shooting outside Portlands Primary School where Jacobs and Gouwa Smith-Newman were shot and killed, Ederees came home with the children and confessed what he had done.

“He asked me if he should hand himself over or kill himself. I told him to hand himself over, because the children wouldn’t cope without him. He lived for them and we never lacked anything,” she added. 

According to the siblings’ father, Mogamat Nadeem Smith, the tragedy stems from what he describes as “obsession and envy.”

“All I can say is that my grandkids belong with their mother. They should have never been taken away. I believe this whole thing could’ve been avoided if the justice system did their job properly,” he said.

Smith, 32, and his co-accused, who is said to be the driver of the getaway car Nazmie Lekay, 33, will appear in court again on 17 November, while Wadee-ah and Mogamat Nadeem will approach the children's court on 13 November.