Bongani Hans
IT HAS been two months since three-year-old Lihle Ngule was abducted in Durban and although some in his family are giving up hope of finding him, they have not stopped praying for his safe return.
Lihle was snatched while he and his cousin Songeziwe, 13, walked to their home in Lamontville on June 30.
A woman had offered the boys a lift and then stopped at a shop, from where she asked Songeziwe to buy her airtime. When Songeziwe returned, the car, with Lihle still inside, had disappeared.
Since then the family has not stopped praying for his safe return.
Talking to The Mercury yesterday, Lihle’s grandmother, Eunice Luthuli, 64, said the boy’s mother, Siziwe Ngule, and father Siyabonga Mkhwanazi had spent a lot of money searching for clues to their son’s whereabouts.
“We have not given up hope because sangomas we have consulted have given us hope (that Lihle will be found alive). Recently his father and mother have been to Vosloorus township (near Boksburg), where a sangoma told them that he was alive.
“We have held prayer meetings to beg God to help bring him back,” said Luthuli.
She said she had fond me-mories of “wonderful times” spent with Lihle.
“I’m very fond of my grandson. He used to enjoy my cooking. He was my boy,” said Luthuli.
Mkhwanazi said his son’s disappearance had left him devastated.
“Despite the sangomas saying he is still alive, I’m starting to lose hope since the police are unable to find him,” he said.
Police Warrant Officer Rico Naidoo appealed to anyone with information about Lihle to contact him on 084 366 1925.
Meanwhile, police are also appealing for help in locating 11-year-old Michaela Kennedy van Dam, who went missing, along with her parents, in Pietermaritzburg a week ago. Michaela, who was last seen on August 26, was not returned to a place of safety in the city after being taken by her parents for a weekend visit.
Warrant Officer Morgan Munsami – 033 845 7724 or 084 400 9924 – is investigating the matter.