A young family, with the help of a private investigator, is frantically searching East London for a woman they believe can help them locate their missing two-year-old daughter.
Veteran East London private investigator Leon Nel has joined the search for a woman who may have abducted the toddler from her Southernwood home over 10 days ago.
Kamvalethu “Kamva” Ncwadi went missing on December 16 while playing on the verandah of their home in St Peters Road at around 4pm. It is believed she was taken by a woman, identified only as Asiphe, who is said to be several months pregnant and apparently frequents local taverns.
The motive behind the abduction remains a mystery.
Speaking to the Dispatch on Thursday, Kamva’s mother Sibongile Ncwadi, 26, said her daughter was playing outside the communal house where they rent a room. “I had just bathed her. About 10 minutes after leaving our room her father went looking for her but she was nowhere to be found.”
According to Sibongile, some of the tenants at the house saw Kamva being taken by the unknown woman.
“The tenant she had come to visit said they did not know her very well and they met at the tavern. This whole thing is strange and I believe more people were involved,” she said.
A frantic search by friends and family on the evening of the little girl’s disappearance was unsuccessful. She was reported missing to the police that night and a missing person case was opened the next day. “I can’t sleep,” said the distraught mom. “Everything I do reminds me of her. I just need her home.”
East London police spokesperson Captain Hazel Mqala said the case had been referred to the family violence, child protection and sexual offences investigations unit.
Photos of Kamva and the circumstances of her disappearance have been circulated on social media platforms. After seeing the Facebook post on Crime Spotter, Nel got involved. “I know the pain of losing a child and I also know the feeling of reuniting a family with their child. My intention is to assist with the investigation in every and any way possible using my experience and to share advice with the police,” said Nel.
To date, after visiting countless taverns in East London and Mdantsane and interviewing patrons and owners, Nel has found what he believes is footage of the woman taken from a CCTV camera at one of the taverns.
According to Nel, she was seen at Men’s Tavern in Mdantsane on Christmas Day, where she reportedly told some of the patrons that police were looking for her.
“She also told them she took the child because the mother was a drunkard, but according to people that I have interviewed and the mother herself, she does not drink alcohol at all.”
The following day the woman was spotted at a tavern in Oxford Street where she was said to be in the company of men driving a red Golf.
The child was not with her during the instances when she was spotted.
Nel said: “It seems like the suspect does not have a known address. We are appealing to anyone with more information to come forward so we can find the child and have the abductor and everyone involved arrested,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact the police on 10111 or Nel on 079-7575-361...