Fears for safety of missing boy, 4
Shattered parents’ hopes wane as days pass with no sign of little son
No-one in the family has been able to eat since little Nakane Lizani, 4, went missing from outside his Wells Estate home on Thursday.
In the early hours of the morning, his exhausted and emotionally drained parents eventually pass out on the couch, where they have spent each night desperately waiting for their son to come knocking on the door with his tiny fist.
But with every passing hour, and with the heavy downpour at the weekend hampering search efforts, their hope is waning.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the Nelson Mandela Bay district Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit was investigating Nakane’s disappearance, and police needed residents to help in the search for the young boy.
Nakane was last seen happily playing near his home at about 3.45pm on Thursday.
“The child’s mother was at home when Nakane was dropped off from day care,” Janse van Rensburg said.
“While she was busy preparing supper, Nakane was
playing outside the house with his 10-year-old brother.
“After a while, their mother called them to come inside, but only the 10-year-old went inside.”
He was later reported missing at the Swartkops police station.
“At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing blue jeans, grey takkies and a lightcoloured T-shirt with a denim jacket,” Janse van Rensburg said.
Nakane’s mother, Zukiswa Ngele-Lizani, 40, sat weeping in her bedroom yesterday.
Her husband, Thanduxolo Lizani, 42, said she had been like that for four days now.
However, they were holding on to their faith that their little boy would be found unharmed.
Through sobs, Ngele-Lizani recounted how she had been preparing supper when she called the two brothers, who had been playing in the yard, to come inside.
But, as they usually did, they pleaded for some more play time, which she allowed.
The second time she called them in, only the older brother responded.
“When I asked him where his brother was, he said he would go fetch him,” she said.
“Two minutes later, I decided to follow him.
“I met him as he was coming back home, and I asked where his younger brother was.
“He then said he could not find him.
“I just asked ‘what does that mean?’”
Fearing the worst, NgeleLizani
immediately started to cry. Together with her eldest child, 14, they went door to door, looking for Nakane.
“The neighbours helped me look for him, I believed we would find him.”
But as darkness fell, she said a part of her died.
“I do not wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy,” Ngele-Lizani said.
On Sunday, they finally managed to get hold of CCTV footage from outside a spaza shop about 600m from their home, where she had heard from some of the older boys in the informal settlement that they had seen Nakane, playing alone in the street near an electricity pole.
They had refused to play soccer with him for fear of hurting him.
She said the footage showed her child, seemingly in a jolly mood, contentedly playing on his own.
“The footage further showed how he was trying to have his own fun, running back and forth.
“However, after the third or fourth time, he disappeared
‘I do not wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy’
from the camera’s view. We still have hope that we will get our child back.
“We leave the gate open, waiting for him to return.
“But no-one in the family is able to eat, including the children.
“I sleep with my husband on the couch late at night, waiting for him to come knocking.
“The rain made our worries worse,” Ngele-Lizani said.
Thanduxolo said he found out his son was missing via a text message from his neighbour at about 8pm on Thursday.
He had been at work and saw the missed calls from his wife.
He rushed home and in the street, where about 30 people had gathered for the search, he burst into tears.
After trying to question his older children about what had happened, and not getting the desired answers, he immediately joined the community in the search for his son.
“When I saw my wife, we both just cried in each others arms,” Thanduxolo said.
“What is keeping us strong now is the support from the community, with some using their own cars to search.
“We are also a religious family so our faith will get us through as well.”
He said getting two children ready for school instead of three yesterday had broken him.
“I cried and my wife comforted me, saying this was a time to fight,” he said.
Anyone who may know Nakane’s whereabouts is urged to contact detective Mluleki Mhlangani on 079-896-7509, Crime Stop on 08600 10111, or their nearest police station.