Durban – The father of one of two 10-year-old boys recently found dead in Durban has spoken out, saying that he had been romantically involved with one of the people accused of the children's murder.

Thandaza Mankayi told News24 that he suspects that his child was killed because he ended his three-year relationship with Amahle Maliwa on October 14 – less than a month before the children's bodies were found.

"How could someone I had been taking care of for three years do such a horrible thing to my son. Is this the way she was thanking me?" he asked.

The boys, Njabulo Mankayi and his friend Luyanda Msomi, were Grade 3 pupils at Clairwood Boys Primary School.

The last time they were seen together was when they boarded a bus home from school last Tuesday.

However, they didn’t make it home.

Instead, Njabulo's decomposed body was found on Monday morning in the Grunter Gully Canal in Bayhead, south of Durban.

Msomi’s body was found in a bush in Montclair, Durban, on Saturday.

She became disrespectful

Now Mankayi, who is married, has opened up about a three-year long relationship he had with Maliwa.

He said he ended things when she began "disrespecting my marriage".

"We had an understanding that she would not interfere in my marriage and that she would not contact my family," he said.

However, he added that she "broke (their) agreement" last year and became disrespectful towards him and his wife.

"She started calling me while I was at home with my family, which wasn't what we agreed on. She would also call my wife and tell her she wanted to talk to me. She would sometimes insult her," he said.

The father of two said things became too much this year, which prompted him to end the relationship.

"I loved her but she became too much. She had children of her own (not his children) and I would, from time to time, help her with groceries for her kids. I would help her whenever I could but, because I love my wife and family, I had to end things with her," he said.

Mankayi said he has heard that Njabulo and Msomi had been poisoned and drugged before they were strangled to death.

However, he added that "the law must take its course".

"I want them to spend the rest of their lives in jail. How can women kill children in such a horrible way?"

'They were best of friends'

Maliwa, has been charged with two counts of murder, kidnapping and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, along with Liziwe Ngwayishe, 33, and a foreign national Ali Yusaf, 46.

Ngwayishe and Yusaf appeared at the Durban Magistrate's Court on Tuesday while Maliwa appeared on Monday.

Read: Two more suspects appear in KZN court for murder of 10-year-old boys

All three of them are to appear in court on November 20.

The father said that the two boys were inseparable.

"They were best of friends at school and even after school," he said.

He said his son wanted to be a farmer.

"He would tease his older brother about how he would make him look after cattle while he (Njabulo) drove his own car. He was a clever boy. He loved listening to Gqom music (Durban house music) and he played soccer at school," he said.

A memorial service for both the boys is expected to be held at Clairwood Sports Ground on Thursday at 17:00, he said.

Njabulo is to be buried on Sunday at Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, while Msomi is to be buried on Saturday in Umzinto, south of KZN.