Johannesburg - As police end their investigation into the disappearance of teenager Kitso Mothibe, an internal probe is under way to verify her family’s allegations of police misconduct.
After being missing for three weeks, the teen’s family notified the police on Saturday that one of her cousins had found the 13-year-old at Park Station that afternoon, according to SAPS spokesperson Colonel Lungelo Dlamini.
Kitso’s safe return to her family marked the end of a three-week nightmare, which saw family members wandering the streets with her picture in search of clues on her whereabouts.
On Sunday, Dlamini could not elaborate on the girl’s condition, but said the investigation had been discontinued as it was only a missing-person case.
“At this stage, it is unknown what her state of health was when she was found, but it is believed that the social workers will deal with the matter,” he said.
Kitso’s stepfather Kabelo Matsatsi told The Star last week officers at Joburg Central police station had said they would not help him, despite the family believing they had pinpointed her location.
Allegations against the officers from the station by the Mothibe family are part of an internal investigation examining police conduct when interacting with community members, Dlamini said.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange has also expressed concern over alleged disregard for the police’s code of conduct.
“Police members must render a responsible and effective service of a high quality and that is accessible to every person,” she said.
Matsatsi went to the police last Tuesday after he received information from reliable sources that Kitso was in a building on the corner of Jeppe and Nugget streets in the Joburg CBD.
He alleged that the police told him they could not go into the building, which they allegedly described as a “no-go zone”.
However, on the heels of a call placed by Matsatsi to a radio station on Thursday, in which he said the police were turning a blind eye to his stepdaughter’s plight, they conducted searches in the CBD that same afternoon.
Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba and metro police officers joined the search.
But instead of finding Kitso, police seized dagga and alcohol, and arrested four illegal immigrants, according to a tweet from Police Minister Fikile Mbalula.
Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele later told The Star that officers weren’t reluctant to go into the building for any other reason than insufficient back-up.
After Kitso’s return to her family, Matsatsi told Eyewitness News on Sunday that she said she had been a victim of attempted human trafficking.
“Apparently, she was with a group of three other girls, but we don’t know who those girls are,” he said. “When I spoke to her she said when she found out she was about to be sold to Nigerians or Tanzanians, she saw the newspaper article that she was missing and wanted to go home.”
In a tweet on Saturday evening, the mayor thanked those who helped to find Kitso. “I have spoken with her father tonight, and the family are extremely relieved. We will assist with any support required,” Mashaba tweeted.
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