Sleepless nights for family of missing 89-year-old granny

Gogo Shelephi MaMkhonza Mvelase, 89, from eMnambithi, KwaZulu-Natal went missing from her home last Saturday.

Gogo Shelephi MaMkhonza Mvelase, 89, from eMnambithi, KwaZulu-Natal went missing from her home last Saturday.

Published Sep 22, 2023

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Durban — A family is struggling to cope because gogo Shelephi MaMkhonza Mvelase, 89, from eMnambithi, KwaZulu-Natal, went missing from her home last Saturday.

Mvelase’s granddaughter Nontobeko Dlamini said they could not sleep at night.

‘’We are really struggling as a family. We can't even sleep at night, it is hard to even eat. This has caused so much pain in the family. We are really worried about gogo,’’ she said.

“On Saturday gogo was at home relaxing outside the house. She then asked for tea from my aunt. Then my aunt went to prepare her tea. When she came back to where she was she was nowhere to be seen. Until this day we can’t find her,’’ said Dlamini.

She said they have tried to look for her everywhere with community assistance, and they have even slept on the street looking for her.

“We have tried everything in our power. We don’t know what to do any more. Some say they saw her hiking while others say they saw her at the shop asking for water,’’ she said.

She also revealed that gogo used to disappear, but not for more than an hour. This is the first time she has gone missing for days. She also emphasised that she was not taking any medication, but would sometimes have memory loss.

Dlamini expressed unhappiness over how the police are handling the case.

“The police are dragging their feet. Since we opened the case we never received any update. The police didn’t even come to us to find out what actually happened, or even assist in searching for gogo. They have done nothing at all. We decided to go to the police station for updates and answers,’’ Dlamini said.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said Ezakheni police are investigating a report of a missing person, Shelephi Mvelase. They are appealing to anyone with information of her whereabouts to contact them.

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