Incidents of violence broke out in the Tshaulu Tshilaphala area, following the disappearance of a seven-year-old boy the past weekend. The boy went missing while herding cattle with his grandfather on Saturday, 27 May.
Rilise Munyai was last seen when his grandfather, Mr Thifhelimbilu Netshilaphala (60), left him in the bush while he went to attend to his cattle along the Luvuvhu River. When he returned to where he had left Rilise with his (Netshilaphala's) cellphone, at around 14:00, the boy and the phone were nowhere to be found. Community members searched the bushes the whole of Saturday and into the night, with no luck.
The incident has caused renewed panic among the residents as this is not the first time a child has gone missing from the area. Last year, two children were rescued just in time when a man (who was believed to have been a foreign national) attempted to kidnap them in nearby bushes.
Since Monday, sporadic incidents where community members burnt tyres and barricaded the roads in the village have occurred. Police are having a tough time curtailing the situation. A meeting was held on Tuesday, where angry residents demanded an explanation from the grandfather, who had to be whisked away by the police. The situation is still tense in the area.
Mr Gilbert Netshivhambe of the Royal Tshaulu tsha ha Bohwana Council said the incident had shocked them. "Firstly, how can a boy his age be left all alone in the bush? Then, the phone was answered by a person with a foreign accent. This only adds to the already boiling temperatures of the community members towards foreign nationals, following the previous attempted kidnapping of the two children. We are just happy that the police are assisting, and we are hopeful that they will bring all their resources and do what they did in KwaZulu-Natal during the floods," he said.
Meanwhile, the Tshaulu police have launched a search and are asking the community for assistance to help them locate the missing boy. Rilise is dark-skinned and was wearing red clothes at the time of his disappearance.
Vhembe SAPS acting spokesperson Sergeant Vhonani Lokie Masia confirmed that a missing-person docket has been opened and that they have launched a search, which is ongoing. "We are calling on anyone with information that can assist us in locating the boy to contact Mr Thifhelimbilu Netshilaphala on 071 161 6075 or 071 157 0053. They can also call SAPS Tshaulu's Detective Commander, Warrant Officer Zwiitani Laughter Munyai on 082 565 7270 / 064 756 8174 / 015 978 4001, the nearest police station or Crime Stop number of 08600 10111, or alternatively share the information on the MySapsApp," Masia said.