Winterveldt community confronts police over “neglected missing person’s case’

The Winterveldt community peacefully marched to Loate Police Station on Monday, 12 May, to demand answers over the case of missing 18-year-old Thato Papone.

Papone was last seen on February 12 in the company of a man believed to be of Nigerian origin.

A missing person’s case was opened on February 24.

According to the DA councillor for ward 9, Thabisile Vilakazi, who led the march, the march was planned after the family raised concerns with how the police handled the case.

“We were approached by the family after they were informed that the case had been dropped not long after it was opened,” she said.

Vilakazi said the family did not understand why the case was dropped, as they had no idea what led police to take such a major decision.

“I believe that before closing the case, police should have informed the family that several interventions had been attempted but were unsuccessful, rather than closing the case without proper communication,” said Vilakazi.

She said that as she kept on visiting the family for updates, she realised the mother was not coping.

“This situation has affected the parents to such an extent that the father had to leave his job due to emotional distress.

“I then had to organise a social worker to provide them with counselling,” Vilakazi explained.

She called for a stronger relationship between law enforcement and the community.

“I believe much can be achieved through working together”

The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) and South African Police Service (SAPS) monitored the demonstration.

Mosima Papone, the mother of the missing teen, was overwhelmed with emotion as she spoke about him.

“This thing has really affected me because I can’t even sleep at night; I have to rely on sleeping pills. I feel pain, and sometimes I feel like I can sleep and never wake up because this matter has really taken a lot from me as a mother,” she said.

Papone explained she believes if police can take her child’s friends for questioning, they would uncover a strong lead, as they are the ones who were with him before he disappeared.

“They even came to our home to tell me that my son had been taken by a Nigerian,” she said.

She said she was happy with the march as it gives her strength and hope that there will be a way forward.

Community member Sesi Linah Siwahla expressed her frustrations during the demonstration.

“On behalf of the community, I would like to ask the police to take our concerns seriously. I am not happy with what has happened to my friend because I can feel the pain she is going through as a mother. I do not understand why police are not taking this case seriously,” she said.

Siwahla said police negligence will make it difficult for the community to report crime to police.

The memorandum demanded:

– A comprehensive update on all investigative steps taken to date in the case.

– Assignment of additional resources to this case, including specialised units if necessary.

– Regular weekly updates to the family and community representatives.

– A community meeting with senior SAPS officials to address the broader concerns regarding police response

– A written plan detailing how Loate SAPS will improve response times and case management.

– An internal investigation into why this and other cases have not received appropriate attention.

The memorandum was received and signed for by Loate station commander Alfred Matantshane.

When asked about why the case was dropped, Matantshane had no clear answer.

He requested patience from the residents to investigate why the case was closed.

“We and the management are going to discuss the memorandum and respond accordingly,” said Matantshane.

The police were given 14 days to respond to the demands.

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