Mystery of missing teen as search for Joslin continues

A 13-year-old Gauteng girl who had just started grade 8 had only gone to school three days before she went missing in January.

It has been seven weeks since Mamello Mokoena of Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, went missing after going to the mall with her 19-year-old neighbour friend.

Her family is hoping for her safe return home. 

Her disappearance and that of other young children in the country have been brought into sharp focus as the search for another little girl, six-year-old Joslin Smith of Saldanha Bay, Western Cape, intensified with the deployment of the navy and drones.

Joslin has been missing since February 19 and the search to locate her is ongoing. Two weeks ago, police minister Bheki Cele called for “cool heads” to prevail amid the finger-pointing and peddling of false information about the police investigation into her disappearance.

Last week Joslin's mother Racquel Chantel Smith, known as Kelly, aged 33, her boyfriend Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, 31, Phumza Sigaqa and Steveno van Rhyn were arrested and appeared in court for a charge of trafficking in people for the purpose of exploitation and kidnapping. They are expected in court again on Wednesday.

In Gauteng, Mamello’s family said they won’t lose hope of finding her.

Her aunt Ponahatso Mokoena told Sowetan that the teenager went missing after going to a mall and also visiting the friend’s relatives around Katlehong. 

“No one was home when she left with the friend and according to the friend, they went to Chris Hani Mall in Vosloorus and then went to the uncle’s house; thereafter they went to the friend’s stepfather to ask for money to come back home.

"From there we don’t know what happened at all. The friend is not saying anything to us at all. We even went to the mortuaries to search for Mamello,” Mokoena said.

According to Mokoena, the friend returned home around 10pm but could not say where Mamello was. 

However, according to Mamello’s second aunt, Mariah Kele, when police questioned the friend, she told them that Mamello’s family had chased her (Mamello) away late at night and told her to return to where she (the friend) was.

“That never happened because her [Mamello’s] brother waited until midnight for her and she never returned. If we chased her away, then why didn’t she as a friend take Mamello in for the night?” asked the aunt.

Mokoena said the incident has been destroying Mamello’s father, Joseph, who has been searching relentlessly for his daughter. “He is not coping at all, everyone in the family is just not coping. Mamello is diabetic, so we are just wondering how she is wherever she is and if she is eating well. 

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said 348 children were reported missing from September last year to February 27.

Of the 348 missing children, 207 returned voluntarily while 141 were still missing.

“Important to note that the SAPS Circulation System is a live system and that figures change constantly. The protection of children remains a priority to the SAPS and especially small children must never be left unattended. If a child is out of sight of an entrusted person, the possibility of harm to the child becomes real,” Mathe said.

Mathe stressed that when a child goes missing, the incident must be reported immediately with the cops. “An investigation into the disappearance of a child may never be ‘closed’ by the SAPS unless the child is found,” Mathe said. 

Zama Nkabinde, whose then four-year-old child went missing in 2010, said while the journey to find her daughter has been stressful, she had not lost hope.

“It’s been 14 years now but I believe very soon I will be able to find her. For a long time, I didn’t want to see anyone born in 2006, I would be so hurt [and] I felt like dying. Now I am fine, I know she is alive somewhere,” she said.

“I want to give strength to other mothers going through what I went through not to lose hope because 14 years later I am still looking forward to reuniting with my child.”

Nkabinde said she was in constant communication with the police.

“The police are taking very good care of me after years of struggling to get answers from them. Police are in touch with me regarding all developments, milestones and next steps.”

Missing Children SA national coordinator Bianca van Aswegen said there were a lot of cases that go unreported.

“... [This] was due to people in the rural areas, for instance, especially with the kidnapping cases where families are being threatened, to not go to the police. We do see an increase in the number of cases being reported to our organisation yearly of children going missing. Covid and lockdown definitely had a massive impact on the number of kidnapping cases,” she said.

Chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za