Durban - Tuesday will be a week since a Grade 1 pupil from Clermont disappeared.
Asanda Mkhize, 6, was last seen by her teacher leaving her classroom at Tshelihle Primary School in Clermont. Her mother, Bahle Mkhize, speaking to the Daily News on Sunday, made a desperate plea to whoever might have taken her child.
“Please bring back my child, what is it that you want from us? I really don’t know what to do because the person has made no contact with us to say what it is they want. I just want the person to bring back my child,” said Mkhize.
She said Asanda disappeared on May 17 and was last seen at school leaving for home, which was close to the school.
“The school is very close to home. Sometimes she walks alone, at other times she walks with other kids.
“Her teacher said she last saw her after school when she said goodbye to her before leaving the classroom,” she said.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed that a missing person docket had been opened at KwaDabeka SAPS for investigation.
“The victim is still being sought by the police.”
Clermont Constituency’s Mandla Sithole said the community had rallied on the day Asanda disappeared after her mother had waited for her to return home and went to look for her at school when she did not arrive.
“Early in the morning the following day we went to the school in the hope that whoever might have found her would have taken her to the school, as she was wearing her school uniform when she disappeared.”
Sithole said that on this day the police were called in, and they arrived with sniffer dogs to look for her.
“We were looking to find her wherever she might be, whether she be dead and dumped in the area, but the search like on the first day was fruitless.
“After having still not found the little girl we decided to make a poster that was shared on social media, and we printed some and pasted them on street poles in Clermont. But there has been no forthcoming information,” he said.
Sithole said that given how their searches had not found the child, he suspected she might have been abducted.
“If the child was missing or lost on the way home someone would have found her by now, we have looked everywhere in the area. She was probably taken, but at this stage we don’t know by whom and for what reason.
“The community is working with the police to help find her. We urge anyone who might have seen her, or who knows what happened, to contact the police. We want her to be found.”
The family can be contacted at 062 429 7655 and Sithole can be contacted at 083 758 4377.
Daily News