Mishack Mabe
A community protest ensued in Vergenoeg, Kwa-Thema on Sunday when the area’s10-year-old girl, Banele Mokabo, was still been missing after disappearing on Saturday. Mokabo was last seen playing at around 5pm, and the community’s reaction was because they believed the police had not been helpful in trying to find her, although the police would eventually find her later that day.
A media statement from the Kwa-Thema Police Ekurhuleni East District Zone 3 was issued on behalf of the station Commander Col. Mareketle Thobejane, stating that, “Metro Police, Cluster, Communication Officer, Station Duty officer and Sector members attended the scene to stabilize the situation and all the allegations of that the missing child has been seen (on Saturday) turned out to be false. Banele was found with a blue eye and FCS contacted and Sgt. Matlabu, who promised to take Banele to the hospital and the situation is under control.”
The Kwa-Thema SAPS confirmed that they were the ones who found Mokabo.
A social media campaign had been launched in trying to find the girl, with concerned Facebook and Twitter users reposting posts and identifying spots at which they should look for her. The search continued on Monday before it was revealed on social media on that day, that she had been found alive.
According to the figures released by South African Police Service Missing Persons Bureau for 2013, a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa. Missing Children South Africa’s (MCSA) statistics indicate that 77% of children are found, with the other 23% either being never found or found deceased. Children are also the most vulnerable victims of gender-based violence, according to the organization. MCSA is an organization that creates awareness about missing children; it also works with the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) to assist with child recoveries.
The organization uses an interpretive approach to reflect on the country’s lived experiences - working with a network of state and civil society stakeholders, to engage them on such cases. MCSA says missing children’s cases are intricately intertwined with the layers of violence that have become embedded in South African society in the democratic era. They offer a series of policy recommendations to address this complex issue.
In many instances, children who go missing have been viewed as those who have ran away from their homes.
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