The search for a six-year-old boy who disappeared from his grandparents' homestead at Lamvi village shortly before Christmas last year continues. On Monday (9 January), the police's K-9 unit went into the mountains of Ha-Makuya, Maholoni, Fandani, Nwiini and Lamvi and combed the whole area, but to no avail.
Washu Tshihume, who lives with his maternal grandparents at Ha-Makuya village, was allegedly fetched by his paternal grandmother, Ms Sophia Tshihume, on 23 December to spend the festive season with her. The following day, he disappeared without a trace while he was playing around their home with other children.
The grandfather, Mr Phineas Tshihume, said he was preparing to go to church shortly after 10:00 on the morning of 24 December when they noticed that the child was nowhere to be found. "Washu was playing with two other kids near the gate. When I asked them where the boy was, they could not tell me how he disappeared, because they are still very young."
Sophia pleads with whomever took her grandson to return him to them immediately. "Please, bring my grandson back. I feel it in my heart that wherever he is, he is very much alive. If you are afraid of bringing him home, just drop him anywhere, we will go and take him home," she sobbed.
Shortly after Limpopo Mirror spoke to the grieving grandparents at their house at Lamvi village on Tuesday, 3 January, the house of one of the villagers, whom the community suspected of knowing something about the child's disappearance, was torched.
The next day, Limpopo Provincial Commissioner General Thandi Hadebe met with angry community members at Ha-Makuya Police Station, who complained to her about their local police's inability to investigate serious cases such as these in the area. Hadebe assured them that she had already assembled a team of investigators attached to the provincial office to investigate the case of the missing child. Having said that, however, she firmly warned community members not to take the law into their own hands. "I urge everyone to desist from engaging in any form of criminality, as this will not help in finding the child," she said.
One of the community leaders in the area, Mr Phumudzo Robert Mukhwathi, said many cases of people who disappeared in their area existed. "We are happy that the commissioner has started a unit to investigate this case," he said.
Acting SAPS spokesperson sergeant Vuledzani Dathi says they are still calling on members of the community with information that can help trace the missing child to contact Warrant Officer Phaladi Maloca at 071 601 5184 or their nearest police station.