Residents concerned about kidnapping incidents in Mthatha

Mthatha residents in the Eastern Cape are concerned about kidnapping incidents in the area. Four families are desperately searching for their family members. Two young men were allegedly abducted in Mthatha a month ago.

It is believed that they were assaulted before being stuffed into a boot of an unknown vehicle. In another incident, a couple went missing, also in Mthatha CBD three months ago.

The families want the police to intensify investigations and arrest those who are responsible. Mthatha is a former capital city of the then Transkei homeland. The busy town is now developing new trends, that are turning it into a criminal activity hub.

Families traumatised by abductions

In the past two months, four people have allegedly been abducted in this town.

Cwenga Ndongeni, 25, and his 21-year-old friend Yamkela Somaguda were abducted and forced into a boot of a vehicle a month ago.

Their families are concerned as there is no trace of their whereabouts.

“Police have been helping us in the search for our kids, we have been in the mortuaries, we have been to private mortuaries, but we cannot get their bodies. We are just asking God to help us find their bodies, we need closure in this and we are really going through a difficult moment right now,” says Cwenga’s mother Nonina Ndongeni.

Yamkela’s mother, Nozuko Somaguda says, “My son’s grandmother is going through a lot, she has been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and she cannot cope. If I look at his room, my heart feels pain, if I look at his clothes, I am getting more traumatised because we have been waiting and looking for his remains. We need closure, we need to close this chapter but because we have not buried him, this will continue to have a psychological and emotional impact on our life.”

In a separate incident, Nomvuzo Masiso and her boyfriend Siyabulela Fekade were also abducted.

This incident happened three months ago, but there is still no sign of their whereabouts.

“As the Masiso family, we are very unhappy with the progress that has been made in investigating this case by the SAPS. We first found that the progress is slow, and this is taking so long. It has been four months now since our sister disappeared, a mother of a daughter from Mthatha,” says Nomvuso’s brother Sonwabile Masiso.

The family of Siyabulela Fekade has no confidence in the police when dealing with kidnapping cases.

“I believe that the people that were put into investigation are not competent enough and that is a great concern because I can see that this investigation is going nowhere. It is giving us a lot of trauma because now our brother has been missing together with his girlfriend. There is nothing we can do except rely on the police but the police seem so far very much unreliable,” says Siyabulela’s brother Mveli Fekade.

Eastern Cape Police are still investigating.

“The two cases are currently under investigation, a search has been conducted in various places in the area of Mthatha, we have not made any success at this stage, however, our investigation continues,” says Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana.

The influx of people from outside, into the Mthatha CBD has increased the workload for SAPS, making it difficult to deal with cases such as human trafficking, rape and murder.