It was a bittersweet reunion. The excitement and relief of the mothers of the two 11-year-old cousins, Thando and Mbali Dube, who went missing on September 6, was marred by claims that the girls had fled their home in Orange Farm because their grandmother was allegedly abusing them.
Thembelihle and Liza Dube leapt with joy, hugged and cried on Tuesday afternoon after hearing on a 1pm radio news broadcast that their daughters had been found and were safe.
Thando and Mbali had last been seen walking on the Golden Highway two weeks ago.
But when the elated mothers and family members arrived at the Orange Farm police station, they were shocked to learn that the children had told the police they had been abused by their grandmother.
Jabulani Vilakazi, who found the girls on the day they disappeared, said the cousins had approached him in Zakariyya Park.
“They came to me crying. They said they were looking for their uncle, who lived in the area. They then told me they lived in Drieziek in Orange Farm.
“But I told them that it was too late to go looking for their uncle and that I would help them find him the next morning. When I got home, I told my live-in girlfriend Nosipho, and she said they could stay the night,” he said.
In the morning, the crying children had said they didn’t want to go back home. They claimed their grandmother would punish them by not giving them food if they did not do their chores.
“I felt for them, I am also a father and couldn’t just throw them out on the street,” he said.
“I only heard they were being searched for last week Wednesday, and wanted to bring them back, but they cried and said they wanted to stay with me.”
The children received counselling and were interviewed by Mpho Mphahlele, a social worker from the Department of Social Development.
They were briefly reunited with their mothers and relatives, but were taken to a place of safety, on Mphahlele’s advice.
“Physically, they were in a state of neglect. They haven’t bathed in days. They do, however, say their stay in Vlakfontein with the couple was good. They also confirmed they had told the man they were abused by their grandmother, who wouldn’t give them any food and would occasionally beat them,” said Mphahlele.
Mbali’s mother Liza was incensed at the allegations. She had never heard that her child had been abused and would be opening a case of kidnapping against the couple. “Their story does not make sense. Who in their right mind would not take unknown children to the nearest police station?”
Captain Johannes Motsiri said they would not be laying charges against the couple. “The allegations of abuse will be investigated and we will be interviewing the couple further, but from what we understand, the man had no knowledge of the children being missing.”