Nicholine Makhozana Zuma died in the early hours of Wednesday, after her house in Imbali Unit 1, outside Pietermaritzburg, caught fire.

The 70-year-old was fondly known as ‘Gogo Maswidi’ because she used to buy a pocketful of sweets and give it to people, especially in taxis she was travelling in to and from work.

Her daughter, Sthembile Zuma, told The Witness she was not at home when the incident happened, but that her brother was with her mother.

She said, according to the information she received from her brother, her mother was sleeping in the dining room and woke up at midnight to pray.

“When she woke up, there was load-shedding and she decided to light a candle. My brother was asleep in the bedroom. We are not sure if my mother left the candle on, or had fallen asleep before she could put it out. My brother was woken up by my mother biting him because she had been trying several times to wake him up with no luck.”

Zuma said when her brother woke up, he noticed that his mother was kneeling down and the house was full of smoke.

Sthembile said her mother told her brother to break a window in the bedroom and go and ask for help from the neighbours.

“When my brother got out, there were already community members who had come to assist. My brother asked my mother if she was alright, but she told him that he must not worry but go get people to assist them. Community members tried to extinguish the fire, but it was too late. While trying to put the fire out, they kept on calling my mother to hear where was she in the house, but there was no response from her. They then decided to open a hole in the roof and used a cellphone light to locate her.”

Zuma said her mother was found kneeling next to the bed in the bedroom. She had to be carried out through a hole in the roof, but unfortunately, did not survive.

She described her mother as someone who loved her children and family, but who was also strict as well.

“She was a prayer warrior. When I heard that she had woken up to pray I was not surprised, because she also brought us up with prayer. This is a huge loss and we are devastated. She loved people,” said Sthembile.