Delmas Community in Mourning After Kidnapped Girl, 7, Found Dead
The community of Delmas, Mpumalanga, is reeling after the body of seven-year-old Thandolwethu Mahlangu was discovered just days after she went missing. The young girl disappeared last Monday, a mere hour after her parents, Ayanda Ngwenyama and Jabu Mahlangu, a security guard, had left their home.
The grim discovery was made on Wednesday morning by Jacob Skhosana, a local resident, while he was collecting rubbish. "I was reaching down for a paper that was stuck between the shack and the fence, when I looked up, I saw her legs and half her body," Skhosana recounted. "I immediately went around the shack and saw her just lying there between the brick wall and the other shack of my neighbour’s house. I was shocked and deeply frightened. It scares me even now to think about it because we all helped look for her." Skhosana noted that Thandolwethu had a bruised eye and small needle marks around her hand and back.
The day before Thandolwethu's body was found, her mother, Ayanda Ngwenyama, received a chilling SMS message from the kidnappers. It read: “We are finished with your dog [Thandolwethu], but we want our R30,000. We would have dropped it off at your doorstep…The other one [her younger brother] is next.”
This message followed an earlier communication received at 7am on Tuesday, after an overnight search for the girl by police and community members. The initial message stated: “We are watching you, and now you are in town. You can go and fetch your dog. We threw it nearby. We want our money. Tell Jabu to send the money to this number via CashSend. If he doesn’t send the money, we are going to burn the house where we found that dog.” Ngwenyama, understandably panicked, immediately contacted the police.
Diikgetse Sepenyane, a family representative, explained that the police had attempted to trace the cellphone number used by the kidnappers. However, they were only able to triangulate its location to an area just outside Delpark in Delmas.
According to Sepenyane, "The police then asked Jabu about owing money to people, and he gave them three names on a list of people he used to borrow money from. They called these people in and interrogated them, but they ruled them out since Jabu had long settled his debt."
Jabu’s father, Bafana Mahlangu, expressed his disbelief that his son owed anyone money and questioned the R30,000 ransom demand. "We don’t have that kind of money lying around here. We would need to go to the bank and ask for a loan because we are poor," he stated.
The family is struggling to come to terms with the tragic loss. "I don’t even know where to start explaining how we are feeling. We still don’t understand how this happened," said Mahlangu. "The children she was playing with said they didn’t see anyone, and it’s such a shock to us because we really don’t understand. Everyone was looking for Thandolwethu, but we couldn’t find her."
Mahlangu said his granddaughter’s death has left a hole in the family, as they had prayed for a long time for her safe return. The family is considering sending her young brother to live with relatives for his safety and well-being.
Mpumalanga police have launched a murder investigation into Thandolwethu's death. Acting provincial commissioner Major-Gen Zeph Mkhwanazi has strongly condemned the crime, vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice. "People have lost their sense of humanity. How can anyone kill an innocent young girl who had her whole future ahead of her? We will not rest until the suspects are behind bars," Mkhwanazi asserted.
The community of Delmas is now left to grapple with the shock and grief of this senseless act of violence against an innocent child. The investigation is ongoing, and police are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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