Actress Siphesihle Ndaba has opened up about the devastating loss of a woman she described as her “big sis”, revealing that Thando Chriselda Gonya was allegedly killed by her boyfriend before he later took his own life.
Ndaba shared the news in an emotional social media tribute, saying her family was left with grief, unanswered questions and the painful reality of losing Thando to violence.
The murder happened about a month before she shared the tribute.
“One month ago, our hearts shattered as we received the news that our beloved Thando had been murdered by her then boyfriend,” she wrote.
“A life taken. A family changed forever.”
Ndaba said the circumstances surrounding the deaths had made it particularly difficult for the family to find answers.
She said the man died by suicide shortly after Thando’s death, meaning the family was left without the opportunity to confront him or hear an explanation for what happened.
“There is another layer to our grief that is difficult to put into words; we may never have the answers we so desperately want because shortly afterwards, he took his own life,” she wrote.
“There is no conversation to be had. No explanation to hear. No opportunity for accountability.”
‘You did not deserve this’
The actress, who became widely known for playing Mazet on Mzansi Magic’s Gomora, described Thando as someone who was deeply loved by her family.
“I love you, big sis. You did not deserve this. Your daughter did not deserve this. None of us deserved to lose you this way,” Ndaba wrote.
She said Thando’s death had also forced her to confront the wider reality of violence against women in South Africa.
“Today, my grief for Thando sits alongside an anger and heartbreak that extends far beyond my own family,” she said.
Ndaba’s comments come as South Africa continues to grapple with high levels of gender-based violence and femicide.
569 women killed between April and June
Ndaba referred to figures showing that 569 women were killed in South Africa between April and June 2026.
The figure has also been cited by the South African Human Rights Commission, which reported that 569 women were killed during the period and that 1,052 women survived attempted murder. The commission also reported 8,814 rape cases during the first quarter of 2026.
The figures provide a wider context to Ndaba’s comments, although national crime statistics cannot by themselves establish how many of those killings were committed by intimate partners or were specifically cases of femicide.
Ndaba said the numbers should not obscure the individual lives behind them.
“Behind every headline and every statistic is a person,” she wrote.
“A woman with a name. Someone’s daughter. Someone’s sister. Someone’s friend. Someone’s mother.”
‘We deserve to live’
The actress said women should not have to negotiate their safety simply to live ordinary lives.
“We deserve to live. We deserve to love without fear. We deserve to leave relationships and still live,” she wrote.
“We deserve to run, walk, work, raise our children and simply exist without our safety constantly being negotiated.”
Her comments come at a time when government and civil society organisations continue to describe GBV as a major human rights and public safety crisis.
The Department of Social Development held its sixth National Shelter Indaba in September 2026, focusing on strengthening responses to gender-based violence and femicide and improving support for survivors and their children. The department said GBVF affects people across society and requires coordinated intervention involving government, communities and civil society.
Remembering Thando beyond the violence
For Ndaba, Thando’s identity should not be reduced to the circumstances of her death.
“Thando is not a statistic to us,” she wrote. “She is laughter we remember. She is memories we cannot recreate.”
She also remembered Thando as a mother whose daughter had lost her mother.
“She is a mother whose daughter should still be able to reach for her. She is my big sister,” Ndaba wrote.
The actress ended her tribute by saying she would continue to speak Thando’s name and remember her for the life she lived rather than only the violence that ended it.
“Thando Chriselda Gonya. I will say your name. I will remember you for the fullness of the woman you were and not only for the violence that took you from us,” she wrote.
“Rest peacefully, big sis. You were loved. You are loved. And you will never be forgotten.”
Siphesihle Ndaba’s career
Ndaba, also known as Cee Cee Ndaba, rose to prominence through her role as Mazet on Gomora. In 2026, she expanded her work behind the camera, making her debut as a co-producer on the film Lil_ith, while continuing to work as an actress. She told Sowetan that she wanted greater creative ownership and to help tell stories she believed were not being made often enough in the South African industry.
