Mother begs for missing child
BRIXTON- Mother of a 12-year-old missing girl says the police are taking their time to investigate the events leading to the tragic disappearance of her daughter.
A Brixton mother, Ellah Chirigo, is pleading for help from the community to find her daughter. Mystery surrounds the disappearance of 12-year-old Kimberly Nyanzou. She went missing on 27 August at Protea Shopping Centre on High Street in Brixton.
“We don’t stay far from Pick ‘n Pay (Protea Shopping Centre)… I sent her to buy bread as I often do,” retold Chirigo.
When Kimberly did not return as quickly as she should have, her mother began to panic. The more minutes lapsed, the more she panicked.
“After 20 minutes went past since she had left for the shop I followed her but could not find her. I asked around and immediately went to the police,” she said.
Chirigo is not ruling out foul play.
“I suspect that someone we know might have taken her because Kimberly is not a child that speaks to strangers, she always listens to what I say,” said the devastated mother.
Chirigo’s relatives are of the same opinion after watching Pick ‘n Pay footage.
“We saw her coming into the mall and she walked to the parking area. She kept looking back as if someone was with her but no one showed on the camera. She then walked straight out of the gate and we have no idea what happened thereafter,” Kimberly’s uncle, Obert Madondo said.
“Kimberly is a good girl. She is quiet and ever smiling. If she does anything wrong she quickly says ‘Sorry, Mum’,” Chirigo said.
“Please help me find my daughter, she means the world to me, the thought of what she must be feeling now is painful,” said the horrified, pleading mother.
The family is unhappy with the way the police have handled the situation.
“The police don’t even call me to tell me what is going on with the case. I go up and down but they keep telling me stories, saying the case is in Sophiatown and then I am told it is being investigated by Brixton,” commented Chirigo.
The case is being handled by Constable Khumalo of Brixton Police Station.
On 4 September she said she had not received the file on Kimberly from Sophiatown Police Station. She did not know anything about the missing girl but said she will send officers to pick up the file. An inquiry was made again on 9 September and still she did not have the file.
On 10 September, exactly two weeks after the disappearance of the little girl, the family did not know if anyone is even looking for their missing child.
“I feel like the world is against me. I have no support from anyone, I don’t know if it’s because I am a foreigner,” said the Zimbabwean woman.
Chirigo says she sent a message to the Ward councillor after failed attempts at calls.
“Even after I sent a message, no one responded to me,” she said.
Attempts to contact the Brixton Ward councillor were unsuccessful by the time of publishing.
Kimberly has brown eyes and wore cornrow braids at the time of her disappearance. She was wearing pink sandals, grey tracksuit trousers with hints of pink, a white and pink top with a blue jacket.
If you have any information, contact Brixton Police on 011 248 5607 or Ellah Chirigo on 083 882 8944.
