As the bus pulled out of Pietermaritzburg, Zubenathi Gxiva looked back at the streets that had been his home for the past three years — this time, not with sadness, but with hope in his heart.

The Witness reports that the 30-year-old man, originally from the Eastern Cape, disappeared after boarding a bus to Cape Town in 2021. He was meant to meet his mother there, but he never arrived.

For three long years, his family in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape had no idea where he was or what had happened to him.

Unknowingly, Gxiva had ended up in Pietermaritzburg. With no memory of how he got there, he lived on the streets near Masukwane Centre. He survived by asking for food.

Gxiva didn’t appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His quiet presence caught the attention of passers-by — especially two factory workers who would stop to help him.

Khanyisile Dlamini and Sbusiso Kheswa, employees at the nearby PDC factory in Pietermaritzburg, made it their mission to look after him.

They regularly brought him food and tried to engage him in conversation, gently asking about his family, his home and his past. “He didn’t say much, but we could tell he wasn’t from here,” says Dlamini.

He was soft-spoken, polite and always grateful. Something in my heart told me this young man had a family who missed him.

Using the little information they could gather, Dlamini took a chance and posted a message on a Facebook group based in Ngqamakhwe, the small town in the Eastern Cape where Gxiva said he was from. Within 30 minutes, the miracle happened.

A message came through. Then a phone call. Then tears. Gxiva’s family had been looking for him for three years. They couldn’t believe he was alive — let alone safe and sound in KZN.

Without wasting any time, the family booked tickets and travelled to Pietermaritzburg. On Human Rights Day, they were finally reunited. There were tears, hugs, disbelief and overwhelming gratitude.

For Gxiva, the moment was emotional. He couldn’t explain how he ended up in Pietermaritzburg, but he was filled with joy to see his loved ones again.

With a smile on his face, he waved goodbye to the streets that sheltered him and walked towards a new beginning. “This has restored our faith in humanity,” says Gxiva’s mother Monica Kunene. “We are so grateful to everyone who showed our son kindness.”

Kunene says her son was well and adjusting to life back at home with family. Dlamini adds: “This experience taught us that sometimes, just asking someone how they are — and truly listening — can change their life.”

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