Help Zonkezizwe family find missing daughter

The disappearance of Mbalenhle Fortunate Bhembe (11) from house 1941, Zone 4, Zonkizizwe in Katlehong, during the Easter weekend, has drastically affected the community.

The child was allegedly ‘kidnapped’ by her stepfather Mpho Kosong (31), who was allegedly last seen dragging her by her hand while rushing towards the Natalspruit River on April 3.

What further frustrated the family and community was the arrest of Kosong, who was charged with the murder of his 57-year-old father, attempted murder and the kidnapping of his stepdaughter.

According to the Ekurhuleni SAPS District media liaison officer Captain Neldah Sekgobela, Kosong appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on April 12. However, the child was still missing.

He was remanded in custody and appeared again on April 18 for a formal bail application.

On April 3, a search team comprising SAPS members, CPF patrollers, Thatazonke members, crime prevention wardens and concerned community members went out to trace the missing minor at Kosong’s residential home.

They also went to Zonkizizwe and Magagula Heights bushlands before heading to the Natalspruit River, where some residents claimed to have seen Mbalenhle walking with Kosong.

Mbalenhle’s mother, Ntombithini Lindiwe Bhembe (37) and her childhood best friend Sophie Chauke (34) are confident that Bhembe’s romantic partner kidnapped the minor.

According to Bhembe, she last saw her daughter playing with her usual friends on the street near her home before her disappearance.

“Kosong and I were not fighting over anything. I think he did this because he was angry that he did not find me when he came to my home,” said Bhembe.

Chauke said based on the police statement made by Mbalenhle’s friends, Kosong fetched her while they were playing on the streets near her home in the afternoon.

“We went to the police station with the children. The children told the police that Mbalenhle said she was going to Kosong and never returned,” said Chauke.

A five-year-old child told Chauke he saw Kosong walking with a dog when he called Mbalenhle.

She said Kosong also went to her home with the same dog earlier that day looking for Bhembe, but she told him that the last time she saw her was on March 28.

“I believe after he left my place, he went to fetch Mbalenhle. He returned at night looking for Mbalenhle, and I told him I last saw her during the day.”

She said they went to Mbalenhle’s friends again the following day with Kosong and the children maintained that Kosong called her.

“Bear in mind, these children do not know Kosong. They only confirmed what they observed,” she added.

“Initially, when we arrived, Kosong was roughly interrogating the children, asking them if they saw him while noting that there are many people named Mpho and what if it was a different one? That is when I began responding. I told him to stop reprimanding the children because he intimidated them.”

She said Zonkizizwe SAPS disappointed them because they told them Kosong was the last person seen with the child, but they did not arrest him.

When Kosong realised that a missing person case had been reported, he also went to the police station to report a missing person’s case.

“The police told him they could not register two cases. He then requested to see the docket, and the police told us they gave him the docket to read. What puzzled me is why the police give a person that they do not know the docket?” asked Chauke.

Bhembe expressed that even if he was keeping the child somewhere, he was going to kill her after noticing his name was implicated in the docket.

She further said Kosong lied, citing he never went to Bhembe’s house during the day. However, Bhembe’s firstborn child and Chauke confirmed to have seen him during the day.

“When we arrived at the police the following day, they told us Kosong came to the police requesting them to accompany him to fetch his belongings at Bhembe’s house. I was shocked why he had to involve the police because they were not fighting with Bhembe,” Chauke noted.

She questioned the police’s decision to allow him to leave because the statement indicated him as the last person seen with the child.

“Police said this information was not in the docket and there was no way they could have arrested him without evidence. Police further noted children cannot go to court to testify as a witness,” Chauke explained.

“I asked them to fetch him because I feared he would run away. After the police arrived with him at the station, we had a heated argument. The police were just listening.

“I was asking him to bring back the child, and he became extremely angry, saying that I was trying to frame him.”
He later suggested they look for her with friends that she could visit. They went to Chauke’s house to check on her daughter who was friends with her but she said did not see her.

“The police dropped us off before they dropped Kosong at his place. They suggested we should print and post missing person copies. Kosong printed the posters with his sole number as the contact person,” shared Chauke.
Chauke noted that had the police arrested him, he was not going to get an opportunity to kill his father and maybe he was going to reveal where he was keeping the child.

She said they had known Kosong for eight years, but he was recently developing anger issues.

“He stabbed his uncle in January. We did not know that his uncle was in ICU. All we knew was that they had fought. They usually fought because his uncle did not want him to stay at Magagula Heights. We only heard about this after we heard he stabbed and killed his father.”

Anyone with information that can help the family find Mbalenhle may contact Bhembe at 063 809 4045.