A man accused of killing his wife and two daughters in the UK has admitted unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition in South Africa.

Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found with fatal head injuries in Great Denham, near Bedford, on 7 July.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, was arrested in Johannesburg after leaving the UK. Local police said he was found with a gun and ammunition he had bought in South Africa. He has appeared before magistrates in the city for a plea hearing.

The Crown Prosecution Service in England has authorised three murder charges against Tshuma and an extradition hearing is due to take place in South Africa on Thursday.

The defendant, who is also known as Mark Tshuma, is a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage.

He could face sentencing for the gun offences later.

A relative living overseas contacted authorities in England on 6 July after not hearing from the family for several days.

Bedfordshire Police officers carried out a welfare check at an address linked to the family that day. They then visited the family home in Carnoustie Drive in the early hours of 7 July, when the bodies were found.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the force’s contact with the mother and her children before their deaths.

Bedfordshire Police made a mandatory referral to the watchdog on 7 July.

The IOPC said it also received a voluntary conduct referral concerning a police constable the following day.

Statements from the coroner’s officers revealed the mother died from “head injuries” while the children’s cause of death was listed as “blunt force head injuries”.

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