Fugitive husband stood next to his estranged wife at daughter's school sports day just hours before he 'murdered her and their two children at £1.3m home and fled to Zimbabwe'

By VIVEK CHAUDHARY IN ZIMBABWE and ADAM POGRUND, REPORTER Published: 11:17, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 11:23, 9 July 2026 An IT executive stood next to his estranged wife at their daughter's school sports day just hours before he allegedly murdered her and their two children at the family's £1.3million home and fled Britain. Mark Tshuma, who earned £100,000, was seen in CCTV footage at Heathrow airport on Saturday where he took a flight to his native Zimbabwe after allegedly butchering his whole family. The bodies of his wife Zandile Tshuma, 42, and their daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found in the family's property near Bedford on Monday. But just the day before he fled to southern Africa, Tshuma had been acting normally, a friend has said - and even attended the summer family event with his wife. Andrew Southam, who services the swimming pool at the family's home, said: 'I saw Mark on Friday. He was fine. 'He was looking forward to his daughter's sports day and praying that the weather would hold out, because previous sports days had been cancelled. So he was really looking forward to that.' Both daughters attended local private schools, Natalie was at the £20,000-a-year Bedford Girls School while Nala is believed to have attended Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School - but it remains unclear which of the murdered sisters had their sports day on Friday. Mr Southam, 64, said had been at their house to service the pool, and that as usual, Mr Tshuma had seemed a happy family man. Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma was seen on CCTV at Heathrow on Saturday as he fled to Zimbabwe - before the bodies of his wife and two daughters aged five and 15 were found at their home on Monday Zandile Tshuma, left, was discovered with her two children, five-year-old Nala (centre) and Natalie, 15, at their family home in Bedfordshire on Monday The family lived in a detached house in an affluent suburb of Bedford. Police had to force entry on Monday after concerns were raised for the occupants' welfare He said: 'He was a lovely guy, always smiling, very polite, spoke well.' Another parent told the Mail: 'Mark was at the Sports Day on Friday with Zandie. It was known they were divorcing.'  The following day Tshuma was seen dressed in black, with a blue sweater and Apple watch, clutching bottles of Coke and water, holding a boarding pass and pushing a suitcase as he went through an E-gate at Heathrow before flying to Zimbabwe. Friends have revealed he and his wife were in the process of divorcing and had recently got a valuation of their luxury home to put it on the market as part of separating. Tshuma had told friends he did not want a divorce as he could not live without Zandile and their children. One friend, who did not want to be named said: 'They had been having marriage problems for quite a while. Their relationship had broken down and Zandile had had enough. 'She was a great mother and wife and a lot of the problems were down to Mark's controlling behaviour. 'She told us that they'd had the house valued and had decided to separate. She wanted to start a new life with the kids.' Another friend added: 'The marriage was over and Zandile wanted to move on without Mark. She was a very clever woman who worked in IT and was more than capable of creating a new life for herself with the girls. Zandile, a mother-of-two, was a high achieving director specialising in financial crime, fraud investigations and anti-money laundering Tshuma, a £100,000-a-year senior IT manager who drives a BMW, had stood next to his estranged wife at their daughter's sports day hours before allegedly killing her and their children Tshuma had told friends he did not want a divorce as he could not live without Zandile and their children (Pictured: Police at the family home on Wednesday) 'It's absolutely heartbreaking what's happened and we are all devastated. Zandile was looking forward to the future and we'll all miss her terribly.' One Zimbabwean who claimed to be a friend of the IT expert wrote on social media: 'He was going through a divorce [I] told him to let her go but he couldn't.' Detective Inspector Lee Martin, Bedfordshire Police senior investigating officer, said: 'We have been carrying out numerous lines of enquiry as part of this fast-paced, complex investigation. 'We know that Mark Tshuma left the country on Saturday and is now believed to be in Zimbabwe. 'We are urgently working to find and apprehend him, and would appeal to him directly to hand himself in.' Addressing himself to Tshuma directly, he went on: 'Mark, unthinkable harm has been caused to those around you, and this has left your relatives and friends utterly devastated. 'Criminal investigation knows no borders. We are actively working with national and international agencies to pursue every available line of enquiry to track you down. 'Please do the right thing, come forward and hand yourself in to local authorities.' Zandile was a high achieving director specialising in financial crime, fraud investigations and anti-money laundering. She previously worked in global banking and consulting for companies including Barclays and KPMG and was vice chair of the Female Fraud Forum. The mother-of-two attended Midlands State University in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and later worked in Tanzania before the couple moved to Bedford in 2011. Tshuma studied Management Information Systems at Solusi University in Zimbabwe before completing his Bachelor of Sciences degree in Plymouth. He later studied for a diploma in Business Systems Analysis and Design at City St George's, University of London. Tshuma describes himself as a 'results oriented and energetic IT leader'. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.