Phumzile Makwakwa’s brother, Themba, left home in Nelspruit on a Sunday and was supposed to report for duty on Monday. When he did not show up at work, his family reported him missing on July 2 this year.
Fortunately he was traced to Witbank a few days after a friend he ran off to saw a post on Facebook that he was missing.
“His friend saw that his condition was not okay. He had suicidal thoughts. But when he saw the post on Facebook that he was reported missing, he said he panicked in case people thought that he was responsible for his disappearance.
“My mother and sister went to fetch him. He didn’t even tell him that he had spoken to us so that he does not leave his place,” Phumzile said.
“When we spoke to him as family he told us his problems. He is going through financial challenges and as a family we have committed to contributing money to help him.
“We are relieved that we found him. Some families are not so lucky.”
For Alson Thebe – popularly known as Sgodo to his maskandi music followers – the regret of not taking the time to talk to his friend when he asked for help continues to haunt him.
His friend, 29-year-old Abel Sibanda, was reported missing on December 7 last year.
He was found at a mortuary about eight days later. He had been hit by a car after being abducted.
“He sent me a message saying he has problems and if anything were to happen to him, he relied on me because I have become like a brother to him.”
Thebe said Sibanda, who worked as a security guard, was also an avid promoter of his work as a musician. “So much so that he had gained a huge following of his own on social media because of his jovial spirit and sense of humour. The last time I saw him was in the wee hours of December 3, following the launch of my latest album on December 2,” he said.
Thebe said on December 3 after they left his album launch, Sibanda was abducted on his way home. “They placed him in the boot of a car and drove around with him, robbed him and then released him.
Sibanda’s sister, Placky, who was listed with Thebe on the missing person’s ad on social media, refused to talk to Sunday World. “The police are still investigating. I believe the killer will come around one day.”
