Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu, [email protected]
SIX years after Tinomutenda Faith Mambewu vanished, her uncle, Jairos Maphosa, is still searching.
He often wonders what Tino, a Grade Five learner at Baines Primary School, would look like today if she had not disappeared in 2019.
“She would be 15 now if she were still alive,” he told Sunday Life ruefully. Her disappearance has haunted the family ever since. Maphosa scans online forums for missing relatives and diaspora message boards, chasing whispers of hope.
“We have tried all avenues,” he said.
“We still believe she is alive somewhere.”
It is a painful search, one that reopens old wounds whenever their efforts are thwarted.
“We have tried everything to find closure on this matter. We are still devastated and we are appealing to Government, the United Nations and any other organisations that deal with human trafficking to help us locate her because we still believe she is alive somewhere.
“We still hope that we will find her. It’s a pity my sister, who was staying with her at the time of the disappearance, is no more. I am now the one looking after Tino’s remaining sibling,” Maphosa said.
One August afternoon in 2019, Tino did not come home from school. Given the drama and pain that followed, her disappearance seemed fairly innocuous at first. She had left school with a friend, saying goodbye to students on cleaning duty and those waiting for music practice with their teacher. Her friend said they had walked together, as they normally did, before parting ways in Northend suburb.
Tino, the friend revealed, had expressed her desire to visit an uncle in the neighbourhood. It would be the last time anyone saw her.
Later, when a frantic search began, her family revealed that Tino had no known relatives in the area. Her aunt and guardian, Mirian Maphosa, led the search and even offered a hefty reward.
She died still hoping to find Tino alive.
A city united in grief
Recently, Bulawayo collectively held its breath as citizens joined law enforcement in the fevered search for two-year-old Asanda Ndlovu.
In the days before she was found unharmed, she became perhaps the most talked-about person in the City of Kings. Her face was plastered across WhatsApp statuses, Facebook and Instagram timelines.
But beneath that solidarity lay fear — the quiet dread of parents in a city that feels increasingly unsafe for its youngest. This week, an anonymous well-wisher based in the diaspora showed the anguish felt even by those whose children have not disappeared, offering US$5 000 for the return of a four-month-old baby snatched from New Parklands.
“I am deeply concerned about the time that has passed without the baby being found. I want the child to be returned safely,” said the Good Samaritan.
The events leading to the disappearance of the four-month-old baby suggested that this was the work of people who planned their operations elaborately and patiently.
A trap was carefully laid and sprung on an unsuspecting parent who was deceived by people she believed shared her spirit of community.
Haunted parents, endless leads
“So far, we have been hitting dead ends and coming across several scammers claiming to have information about the whereabouts of our baby,” said Sikhumbuzo Ncube, the father of the missing child.
His desperate words exposed the anguish of parents flung from pillar to post in search of their missing children. Some turn to prophets, traditional healers, and other diviners in the hope that they might succeed where law enforcement has not.
For the Maphosa family, Tino’s disappearance in 2019 deepened their suspicions about the man who was in their mother’s life at the time of her passing.
According to Maphosa, the family believed Tino was targeted by the man (name withheld), who wanted to plunder her inheritance.
“The missing child is the one who was meant to inherit houses left by her mother. We believe her disappearance was linked to the estate of her mother,” he said.
With none of their suspicions confirmed by law enforcement, the Maphosa family — who believe the man behind their child’s disappearance is a ritualist — have been left with speculation, like many others pained by the disappearance of their children.
Unsafe, vulnerable, online
In a world where many people spend their time online sharing pictures and personal details, children are becoming increasingly vulnerable.
According to researchers at the University of Southampton, would-be predators now use social media as a shop window to scout victims.
Details like birthdays, pet names and even addresses put children at increased risk.
“These findings highlight the serious risks children can face when photos and videos of them are shared widely on social media,” said Rani Govender.
“Sharing photos or videos of children at scale across the online world can put their safety, privacy and well-being at risk,” she added.
Four months before her child’s disappearance, Tracy Ngwenya, mother of the four-month-old twins, joined a WhatsApp group called Idale Labomama, a mothers’ forum that shared information on children’s clothing and assistance — a digital lifeline for many.
On December 27, she responded to a post offering free children’s clothes.
A woman identifying herself only as MaNdlovu from Cowdray Park contacted her, promising to deliver the items to her New Parklands home. Early on December 29, at around 6am, she confirmed the delivery would happen that day.
By 1pm, Ms Ngwenya was directed to wait at the corner of Harare Road and Cecil Avenue, a short walk away. Trusting the arrangement, she left one of her twins asleep in a bedroom while her four-year-old played outside and carried the other twin to the meeting point.
She waited. A message followed, saying someone called “Lo” had been sent instead.
No one came. Uneasy, she returned home — and stepped into every parent’s nightmare. The baby she had left sleeping was gone.
The incident highlighted how digital platforms have left both parent and child vulnerable to people who pose as helpers but have more devious intentions.
Police have since warned parents about oversharing personal information on social media.
