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Dad ‘blamed’ for Babongiwe’s disappearance

21/08/2013 02:29:00 BY LINDA JELETI

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Police officers descending a rock in search of the suspect.

NGCULWINI – The father of missing Babongiwe Vilakati, Sifiso claims that residents believe he is responsible for the disappearance of his daughter.

Vilakati, in an interview yesterday, said he had been questioned by many people regarding the disappearance of his eight-year-old daughter.
He said the line of questioning suggested that he was also being held responsible for the disappearance of his own child.
Sifiso denied the allegations and said they traumatised him, just as the disappearance of his child did.

He said the tragedy was the most difficult time of his life and he contemplated committing suicide.
“I know that some people say that I am responsible for the disappearance of my child. In the manner many residents question me, I get the feeling that they think I played a part,” he said.

He clarified that on the day he last saw Babongiwe, he was ferrying cow dung to the family’s fields to use as manure and she was returning from school with her maternal aunt. He said he stayed with her daughter in his flat.
“The last words I said to her were that she had to dish herself when she arrives home and I continued to ferry the manure. She did eat, but later went to the river to wash her clothes. I assume it was because we had said she would be visiting her maternal aunt during the school holidays. Nobody saw her going to the river,” Sifiso said.

He said he was later called and told to go to Mhlamati River to see if an abandoned washing dish and clothes did not belong to his family and upon arrival he discovered that they were for his daughter.

He said he saw a man along the river, near where his child was doing her laundry, but the man claimed not to have seen her, but he disappeared afterwards. He said they searched around to no avail and later reported Babongiwe’s disappearance to the police.
“May I appeal to the nation at large to pray with me that my child should return still alive or at least to recover her body so that I can bury it to put this matter to rest.”

300 cops, 100 residents search for ‘kidnapper’

NGCULWINI – About 300 police officers and nearly 100 residents swarmed forests in search of a suspected kidnapper of eight-year-old Babongiwe Vilakati yesterday.

Yesterday marked the fourth day of the search, also comprising police recruits and residents, which started at around 9:30am at Joy Mission at Ngculwini cutting across two farms. The team combed the forest with the hope of finding, either the child or the suspect that kidnapped the Ngculwini Nazarene Primary School Grade II pupil.
An unknown man is believed to have established a home in the forests within the Mordant and Young Farms and has left the community gripped with fear. A number of items including cooking pots, food and clothing items as well as knives have been found in different parts of the forests, and the residents have vowed not to rest until there has been an arrest and recovery of the child.

Divided

The operation covered a distance of about 15 kilometres searching in rivers and possible hiding spots of the suspects. Some residents, believed to know the forests, were directed to be part of the police officers that led the teams that had been divided into four groups to approach the forests from all directions to close all possible escape routes of the suspect.

Some of the police officers were armed with rifles while others carried police batons. Some residents, comprising men, women and pupils from the missing girl’s school and Mhubhe High School among other neighbouring schools, were armed with an assortment of weapons ranging from slashers, knobkerries and stones to name a few. At the start of the operation, residents were warned against separating from the armed police officers to prevent any danger should the suspect be discovered, because it was unknown how dangerous he could prove to be.
The forest, made up of thick vegetation such as indigenous thorny trees and deep dongas, made the search difficult as the team could not go through all the places. However, most of the rivers in the forest have run dry.

The teams recovered a number of items such as washing dishes, pots, clothing items and shoes. The items were handed over to the police as potential exhibits.
Aspiring MPs from the area, businesspeople, inner council members as well as community policemen were part of the search. Police Public Relations Officer Superintendent Wendy Hleta was also part of the team among senior police officers who led the operation.

Discovered

One of the residents discovered a three legged pot that contained remnants of cooked meat, in one of the rivers within the farms. Upon inspection by the police, it was discovered that the pot may have been used a couple of days ago, but a bad odour could be smelt as a result of the rotting meat.
The minor went missing on Friday at Mhlamati River where she had gone to wash her school uniform and clothing after collecting her second term school report. The search team discovered blood stained spots along the Mhlamati River near the spot where the child had last been seen.

Hleta appealed to the residents and nation at large, to assist with information that may lead to the recovery of the child and arrest of the suspect. She said the police could not conclude anything yet as investigations were still ongoing.

Ngculwini folk advised to travel in groups

NGCULWINI – The police have warned Ngculwini residents to travel in groups.

Police Public Relations Officer Superintendent Wendy Hleta, in an interview, warned the residents against travelling alone, especially at night. The warning emanated from the disappearance of eight year-old Babongiwe Vilakati who is believed to have been kidnapped while doing laundry at Mhlamati River on Friday. “People should be cautious when travelling within the area and ensure that they move, at least in twos.

However, they should rest assured that the police will provide all the necessary security for them,” she said.

Residents search abandoned homes

NGCULWINI – Residents have decided to search all abandoned homesteads within the area in a bid to find the suspected kidnapper.

One of the residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they, with the assistance of community policemen have decided to establish a night watch and investigate during the night.

He said the residents would, from yesterday, walk around the area and approach all abandoned homesteads to see if nobody sneaked in at night to sleep. He said they had decided to revive a crime prevention strategy that had been set a couple of years back, but faded.
“Should we meet a stranger at night walking around the area, we will question him of his origin and reason for being there at night.

We will accompany any stranger to any place they may claim they would be going to, to ensure that they are not here for ulterior motives,” the resident said. “This strategy worked well for us in the past as the crime rate decreased drastically.”