Destitute woman ‘kidnaps’ 4-yr-old

A four-year-old girl from Bulawayo’s Emganwini suburb is missing after she left with a woman suspected to be from Tsholotsho who the family was taking care of after finding her stranded in the city.

Nosipho Ndlovu went missing on Wednesday from her granny’s home in the same suburb after Simphiwe Mlilo (21) took her on the pretext that she wanted to buy her “chips.”
In an interview, Nosipho’s grandmother Mrs Moli Nkomo said they did not suspect that Mlilo could disappear with her grandchild.

“Simphiwe came to my house last week on Wednesday looking for Nosipho’s mother, Simelinkosi Ncube. However, she was not around. We know Simphiwe as she was staying with my daughter-in-law who had found her stranded in town. When she arrived here and she asked to go with Nosipho to buy airtime so that she calls her mother, I did not suspect anything. She told my granddaughter that she was going to buy her chips and she agreed to accompany her,” said Mrs Nkomo.

She said that was the last she saw Mlilo and her granddaughter. Mrs Nkomo said the family is worried over the whereabouts of Nosipho.

“We have even reported the matter to the police and we are appealing to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the two to contact us or the police,” she said.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said the matter is being treated as a kidnapping.

“We are investigating a case where a four-year-old child disappeared with a woman aged 21 on October 30. The child was last seen wearing a red dress with white dots,” said Chief Insp Simango.

She urged members of the public not to entertain strangers at their houses.

“We urge members of the public not to entertain strangers at their houses,” she said.

Anyone wih information that might lead to the arrest of the accused person should contact any nearest police staion.—@missngara