Search ramped up for missing boy, 4
‘My son is alive. Until I see evidence proving me wrong, I will believe my son is still alive and well ’— desperate Bay mom
Marking one week since little Nakane Lizani’s disappearance in Wells Estate, the police and residents braved wet conditions to embark on a mass search.
But, devastatingly, the fouryear-old remains missing.
With heavy rain expected overnight, the need to find the bubbly boy became all the more pressing.
However, his parents are still hopeful that he is alive and will be returned home soon.
“My son is alive. Until I see evidence proving me wrong, I will believe my son is still alive and well,” his mother, Zukiswa Ngele-Lizani, said after the failed search yesterday.
More than 100 people, including members of various police units, municipal officials, private security, neighbourhood watches and residents, patrolled the muddy streets of Wells Estate as the desperate search continued.
For more than two hours, despite cold and wet conditions, search parties went door-to-door, looking for any clue to the child’s whereabouts.
Even after the majority of the searchers had to withdraw from the vicinity where he was last seen, a small contingent of police and neighbours continued the search.
Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain.
Despite this, the police top brass are confident the boy will still be found.
“Until we find a body, we are holding out hope for the boy’s safe return,” Nelson Mandela Bay district police commissioner Major-General Vuyisile Ncata said.
“Without a body, there is no proof that he is not alive and we will continue our search.”
Nakane was last seen playing near his home on Thursday last week.
He had been playing outside with his 10-year-old brother while his mother prepared supper in the kitchen.
But when Ngele-Lizani asked the older brother to call Nakane inside, the boy could not be found.
CCTV footage from a nearby shop showed him playing in the street minutes after he was last seen at home.
But he eventually disappeared from the camera’s view.
Police members from various units, including the K9 unit and detectives, and top police management gathered yesterday morning at the Wells Estate Community Hall, where Ncata briefed them on the search operation.
Shortly after 11am, a fleet of police vehicles descended on the area where the child was last seen.
Police units were divided into groups, handed printed copies of Nakane’s picture and paired with community members before trudging through the waterlogged roads with mud-caked boots.
From a distance one could hear Nakane’s name being called.
Some officers peeped through windows while others banged on doors and questioned those inside.
Where doors were locked, neighbours were asked to call the homeowners so that they could open the doors to allow searches to be conducted.
One senior police official lambasted a mother who arrived at her home while it was being searched.
She had been with neighbours, leaving two small children alone in her shack.
“Don’t you understand that we are looking for a small boy who went missing? And now
you leave your children unattended,” he said to the mother, who apologised profusely.
After canvassing the area, most of the police officers returned to their vehicles and left.
A few stayed behind to question more residents.
“This was a massive display of support for our family, and we are extremely grateful to see the police and our neighbours come together in this way to help us,” Ngele-Lizani, 40, said.
She described Nakane as a cheerful and playful boy, who loved the attention of his parents and siblings.
“They are learning about colours at school, and he loves showing all the different colours he knows.
“Whenever he finds something colourful, he jumps up with excitement because he has to tell you immediately what colour it is.”
Asked about the inclement weather and the impact it would have on search operations, the mother said it would not deter the family.
“I will find my son. I will only stop after I bring him home, or after I find his body.
“Until I find concrete evidence that he is no longer alive, I will keep searching.”
She believes that someone who was unaware of the search may have seen him wandering alone and taken him in.
“Maybe an old lady somewhere, with no access to Facebook or social media, took him in and does not know we are looking for him.
“Maybe that person is even looking for us to give him back,” a hopeful Ngele-Lizani said.
Ward 60 councillor Thembinkosi Mafana thanked law enforcement officials and the community for joining in the search efforts.
“Our community appreciates the efforts shown by the police to help look for this boy, and we have faith that he will be found and returned to the care of his family soon.”
Ncata said though the additional resources from yesterday’s search had to be withdrawn, police would remain active in the area and would not rest until Nakane was found.
“Everyone is interested in the safety of this boy, and we are grateful for the role players outside the police that came on board to assist.
“There is still much uncertainty about what happened and how he went missing, and this area is not known for this sort of disappearance.
“We will keep questioning everyone, especially the boy’s friends, and maybe it will give us some clues as to where to find him,” Ncata said.