The daughter of well-known lawyer and former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee has gone missing and the family have offered a R100 000 reward for information regarding her whereabouts.
Hillary Gardee, a 28-year-old student, reportedly disappeared on April 29 after she was last seen at a Spar outlet in a shopping plaza in Nelspruit.
Her uncle, Moses Mbatha, confirmed that the family had since reported the matter to the Nelspruit police who were investigating.
Speaking to IOL on Monday, Mbatha said his niece was last seen at about 5.50pm on Friday. He said her phone had since been switched off.
According to the missing person poster that is being circulated on social media, Gardee was last seen wearing a black top and black trousers and was carrying a shopping bag and a laptop bag. The poster has also been shared by EFF leader Julius Malema and others from the party.
Please help us; the daughter of our former SG Commissar @GardeeGodrich is missing. pic.twitter.com/V9McfjhUUx
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) May 2, 2022
Hillary was with a 3-year-old girl she was looking after. Mbatha said the child was living with Gardee’s family at the time and the family intended to adopt her.
“Before Hillary’s mother died, this little girl lived with them and I think they were in the process of adopting her. She was with Hillary because after Mrs Gardee died, Hillary looked after the girl,” Mbatha said.
He said the little girl was found in a street in KamaGugu hours after the pair went missing.
RT #sapsMP Police in Nelspruit appeal for assistance in locating Hillary Gardee (28) from Kamagugu, who was last seen on 29 April 2022 at Spar Supermarket in Nelspruit. Anyone with info to contact D/Cst Zitha on 0724740835. #CrimeStop #MySAPSApp MLhttps://t.co/EAtjitryn4 pic.twitter.com/YCKoDiG9Zk
— SA Police Service 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@SAPoliceService) May 2, 2022
“Naturally the family is distraught. Anyone who goes through something like this does not want to believe the worst so the family is trying to remain strong and keeping the hope,” Mbatha said.
Anyone with information is requested to phone the hotline set up by the family: 072 514 1456.
Political Bureau