Mpumalanga Police Fear Strike Could Hinder Search for 6-Year-Old

• Mpumalanga’s SAPS is worried that a protest in Pienaar township would derail the search for missing six-year-old Junior Mabandla
• Mabandla was last seen leaving his parents' home to buy sweets at the local spaza shop on 3 June 2024
• Two days after his disappearance, his community took to the streets to demand that police do more to find the missing child

Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered Mpumalanga crime and current affairs on the radio for over 15 years.

Mpumalanga police are concerned that an ongoing strike in Pienaar township, near Mbombela, could hamper the search for a missing six-year-old boy.

Mpumalanga 6-year-old goes missing

According to the SAPS, Junior Mabandla was last seen leaving his parents' home in Pienaar on 3 June 2024 to buy sweets at a nearby spaza shop.

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Two days after his disappearance, residents of the township blockaded the entrances into the area with burning debris. The protesters told Mpumalanga News that the police weren’t doing enough to find the missing child.

However, SAPS Mpumalanga spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli told Briefly News that the ongoing strike hindered the search for Mabandla as some resources were diverted to monitor the protest. He added that protestors could unknowingly tamper with potential leads in that area, making it difficult for the K-9 dog unit to trace Mabandla's whereabouts.

Mdhluli also pleaded with the community to work with local law enforcement in the search for the six-year-old:

“This is the moment when we should be joining hands between the police, the family and members of the public with the sole purpose of finding this child.”

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Mdhluli added that anyone with information on the missing child should call Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or send it via MYSAPSAPP.

North West SAPS rescue kidnapped kid after high-speed car chase

Briefly News previously reported that members of the South African Police Service in the North West rescued a little child who was kidnapped for ransom.

The incident happened after the six-year-old child went missing during a robbery at a tavern in Phokeng.

An intense chase between the police and the suspects led to a dramatic rescue and the arrest of four suspects.

Source: Briefly News