Distraught father of missing Benoni toddler says man last seen with his daughter 'is not talking'

The father of missing Benoni toddler Bokgabo Poo on Friday revealed that despite a suspect being arrested in connection with her disappearance, the four-year-old's whereabouts were still unknown. 

Taking to Facebook on Friday afternoon, a visibly broken Irvin Ndlovu pleaded for anyone who could help locate his daughter to come forward.

She has been missing since Monday. 

“My little girl ... I can hear you crying from a million miles away  — calling Mommy, calling Daddy, and we are not there to save you,” said Ndlovu in a message to his daughter. 

“I want you to come back home. I miss you,” he said, adding he knew what it was like to be called Dad because of her. 

“You are my first and only girl. I need you. And anyone who knows where my daughter is, please help us find her,” he added. 

“The suspect is not talking,” he said, holding back the tears 

“And I pray every day that my daughter is still alive.” 

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo confirmed the man suspected to be behind the child's kidnapping was nabbed earlier on Friday. 

"[He] was arrested in Rondebult, Boksburg North. It is reported that a member of the community saw the suspect in Boksburg North and called the police who responded swiftly and arrested the suspect,” said Masondo. 

“The police would like to thank the community who have been working with the police in the search for the suspect. The police are currently interviewing the suspect about the whereabouts of little Bokgabo,” he added. 

The community of Wattville township in Benoni had launched a massive search for the child since her disappearance on Monday.

It was alleged Bokgabo had been playing with a five-year-old boy at the Masoleng Park in the township. The park is near her home. The two were reportedly  approached by the suspect, who gave the boy money to buy sweets at a nearby tuck shop while he remained with Bokgabo. 

The little boy returned to find the two gone. 

CCTV footage taken from a house near the park showed the suspect walking off with Bokgabo. In the video, the youngster was seen frolicking next to the fast-walking man. 

The suspect was identified by community members who launched a manhunt for him.

Meanwhile, visuals of the suspect in police custody have been circulating  on the community Facebook page. 

The cuffed suspect is seen talking to police. 

On Tuesday, as the search for Bokgabo was under way, a community member found the remains of a child buried in her yard. 

The discovery was made in Tamboville, another section of the same township. 

Masondo said: “It is reported that a 63-year-old woman was sweeping her yard when she noticed the toes of a human being surfacing from the ground. She called the neighbours who then called the police. Several role players from the police were summoned to the scene and a leg of a child was found in a shallow grave.” 

While police were processing the scene, they were informed about the body of a child in an open veld, about 800m away from the house where the leg was found.

He said the pieces formed what was believed to be a human body

While Ndlovu was certain the decomposed and burnt remains of this child were not Bokgabo, police had subjected him and Bokgabo's mother to a DNA test to confirm this.

This is a developing story. 

TimesLIVE